The design of Rex Road Elementary, completed by Vines Architecture, emphasizes functional, future-ready learning spaces. | Photo Credit: Vines Architecture
RALEIGH, N.C. — The Wake County Public School System (WCPSS) has completed its new 133,000-square-foot Rex Road Elementary School campus in Holly Springs, N.C., designed to accommodate 800 students from Kindergarten through fifth grade. The campus includes modern learning environments such as classrooms, a learning commons, media center, gymnasium, cafeteria and flexible collaborative spaces.
The new elementary school comes as the district responds to rapid population growth and increasing enrollment, part of a larger push to provide high-quality learning environments across Wake County. The district first broke ground on the project in October 2023.
“We know the pressure our school systems are under as communities grow,” said Jeff Sandeen, President of Balfour Beatty in the Carolinas, the project’s builder. “At Balfour Beatty, our role is to be our client’s steady partner by showing up, listening and building the planned facilities that students and teachers need to succeed. Rex Road Elementary is one of those projects where we all worked together to achieve the same goal and the results speak for itself.”
The design of Rex Road Elementary, completed by Vines Architecture, emphasizes functional, future-ready learning spaces. HEAPY was engaged to provide new construction commissioning services, covering both design and construction phases. During the design phase, the team facilitated two project reviews—at 60% and 100% construction documents—working closely with the owner’s quality assurance project manager and MEP team to validate the Owner’s Project Requirements (OPR).
One key design-phase commissioning outcome involved the kitchen hood exhaust system, where a shortage of make-up air was identified. HEAPY collaborated with the Engineer of Record to implement an air transfer pathway and a sequence of controls to provide energy-efficient demand control ventilation, ensuring proper building pressurization, occupant comfort and safety.
During functional testing, HEAPY will leverage a building analytics platform to analyze 100% of terminal units before owner acceptance. Continuous collection of building automation data and operational reviews will ensure that energy performance, indoor air quality, and comfort levels meet design expectations.
Rex Road Elementary underscores Wake County’s focus on educational spaces designed for adaptability, safety and long-term operational efficiency, reflecting a collaborative approach between designers, contractors, commissioning teams and the district to meet the evolving needs of students and the community.
The project represents the latest in a nearly 20-year partnership between Wake County Public Schools and Balfour Beatty, which has already delivered 15 schools in the district and is leading construction on other major projects, including Athens Drive Magnet High School additions and renovations, the consolidated Wake Early College of Information & Biotechnologies and Parkside Middle School K-12 campus, and the design-phase Ligon Road Middle School additions and renovations.
In 2022, the WCPSS Board of Education approved a seven-year building plan with a projected cost $2.6 billion. This includes eleven new schools (six elementary, one middle, three high, and one combo middle/high) along with ten major renovations (six elementary, three middle, and one high). Additionally, the plan includes life-cycle equipment replacement, educational equipment and furniture replacement, technology and security, land acquisition, environmental/ADA issues, mobile relocations, unique learning environments (SNAP and PRIMP), facilities assessments, program management and program contingency.