Major Elementary School Project in Juneau to Conclude This Year

JUNEAU, Alaska — The overhaul of Auke Bay Elementary School is set to be complete by Oct. 1 of this year. The school — long overdue for major renovations — has been under construction since June 2012.

Although the initial target completion date was the first day of school for the 2013-2014 academic year —Aug. 20 — the project team feels confident that the extended schedule won’t interrupt the beginning of classes. Problems installing the new elevator system and quality issues with the soil caused the delay in the schedule.

Sitka, Alaska-based ASRC McGraw Constructors, the construction company working on the project, will continue work on the school only after school hours and on weekends in order to minimize disruptions during the day. The new gymnasium was completed by the end of the first week of school so students could use if for gym class as well, according to Kathi Collum, the project engineer. Gym classes were held outside and in the new common area in the meantime.

There were several major components of the $17 million project. The 50-year-old building needed numerous significant renovations, including a new roof and bleachers for the gymnasium and a new heat source. The project team installed a ground source heat pump outside of the building. In order to do so, the team dug 64, 300-foot wells into the ground. This allowed them to install a geothermal heating system that relies on salt water, according to Catherine Wilkins, architect and project manager for the City and Borough of Juneau. This new system will allow the school to run on electricity alone, rather than fossil fuels. Although the pump cost around $1.5 million to install, Wilkins anticipates that the school will recover the initial cost in as few as five years. Auke Bay is the first school in Juneau to use a geothermal heating system.

Other upgrades in the school include new furniture in many of the classrooms, newly raised ceilings and an overhaul and reconstruction of the front wing of the building. Joann Lott from locally based architectural firm Jensen Yorba Lott was the architect for the new portion of the building.

Another significant change included redesigning the school’s parking lot. The previous parking lot often resulted in bottleneck traffic conditions, according to Wilkins. The project team also focused on upgrading the school’s telecommunication, data, mechanical, electrical, fire alarm and public address systems.

This is the first major renovation the school has undergone. McGraw’s project team consisted of 60 crew members during the main portion of the project and 17 as the team begins wrapping up its work.