Photo: Phase I included the addition of four new 1-story buildings by TimberQuest that will help support the district’s efforts to reorganize grade levels. | Photo Credit (all): Aedis Architecture
By Lindsey Coulter
FAIRFIELD, Calif. — Community leaders, educators, and project partners gathered on Aug. 8 to celebrate the completion of a four-building expansion at Golden West Middle School in Fairfield. The ribbon cutting ceremony and open house marked a significant milestone for Travis Unified School District, as the campus can now welcome its first cohort of sixth-grade students in more than two decades. The sixth graders will join seventh and eight grade students for the 2025-26 academic year.
Work on Golden West Middle School’s campus expansion campus will be completed in two phases. Phase I included the addition of four new 1-story buildings by TimberQuest that will help support the district’s efforts to reorganize grade levels. Together, the buildings add approximately 19,000 square feet of new space to the campus, including classrooms, a teacher’s workroom and restrooms. The project also encompassed site work, adding a staff parking lot as well as new basketball and tennis courts and perimeter fencing. The project team broke ground in February 2025 and was completed on schedule. Work occurred across near 3.7 acres of the nearly 14-acre campus of Golden West Middle School Campus.
“It’s not often, given today’s fiscal pressures, that schools can provide learning spaces that match the excellence of their instructional programs,” said Travis Unified School District Superintendent Tiffany Benson in a statement at the ribbon cutting ceremoney, “but that’s what makes this accomplishment so significant.”
The expansion was delivered using TimberQuestTM, a prefabricated mass timber building solution which adds permanent, high-quality learning environments that support the district’s long-term vision for growth, flexibility and student wellbeing. Travis Unified School District leaders selected TimberQuest’s DSA pre-approved solution, allowing for expedited design and permitting. General contractor XL Construction was able to construct the buildings in only six months, delivering the buildings in time to open for the new school year.
The project team also included structural engineer Daedalus, contractor Elevated Construction Services, mass timber and CLT provider Kalesnikoff Mass Timber, general contractor XL Construction and architect Aedis Architects.
“This was truly a collaborative effort,” said Nick Cardin, Project Executive at XL Construction. “The district had a clear vision, and we were proud to help bring it to life quickly and in a way that prioritizes students and educators.”
The project will now enter Phase II, projected to end in August 2026, which includes demolition and removal of the existing administration building and construction of a new multiuse and administration building.