GAINESVILLE, Fla. — With an enrollment of just over 49,000, the University of Florida in Gainesville is packed with students taking up every available classroom, study hall and library space on its historic tree-lined campus.
“Our enrollment has actually plateaued over the last few years and we are holding it there on purpose,” remarks Ed Poppell, UF vice-president for business affairs.
TWYFORD, England — International contracting and support services firm Interserve recently introduced a modular classroom kit that the company claims can cut the cost of building a new school by 25 percent. The environmentally friendly kits, called PodSolves, consist of steel framing that comes together to form flexible classroom units.
LOS ANGELES — Design firm DLR Group won a conceptual design competition with a unanimous vote by the judges to modernize Beverly Hills High School at an estimated cost of $150 million.
The firm beat out three other finalists for the contract to design the iconic high school, a part of the Beverly Hills Unified School District. The design team included architects from DLR’s Los Angeles, Seattle and Orlando offices.
SHIPPENSBURG, Pa. — Shippensburg University will break ground on the first of its three-phase, on-campus housing project — the largest project in the university’s history.
ST. LOUIS — Brinkmann Constructors wrapped up construction of the $70 million Westminster Christian Academy one year ahead of schedule, saving up to $1.3 million.
Plans for the school had been discussed for the past eight years but the poor economy caused delays.
Donations from the community — including 30 acres of land and millions of dollars in donations — allowed contractors to start work in December 2010.
JERSEY CITY, N.J. — Saint Peter’s College has partnered with Ener-G Group Inc., a Manchester, U.K.-based energy efficient, sustainable and renewable solutions provider, to install a $6.3 million energy service at the school’s West Campus.
Strategic Development Group, a Fairfield N.J.-based firm that partners with Saint Peter’s College on major real estate developments, first presented the idea to the college as a holistic energy conservation project for the West Campus.
CLEVELAND — Officials at Cleveland State University broke ground on the campus’ new $50 million mixed-use community — the largest residential development to come to the city in more than 30 years.
School Construction News recently completed a survey of maintenance/operations needs of schools throughout the country. Results of the 21-respondent sampling included:
LOS ANGELES — The Los Angeles Community College District is instating new contract requirements that could eliminate the agreement between the district and Turner Construction Co. — part of an effort to reform a $6 billion building program that a state audit earlier this year reported as flawed.
ATLANTA — The Technical College System of Georgia hired Parrish Construction Group to manage building renovations on its Atlanta Technical College campus.
Based in Perry and Alpharetta, Ga., the construction firm specializes in building academic facilities throughout the state.
The college system hired the design-build team of Parrish Construction and NBP Engineers to renovate existing HVAC systems in three buildings that had problems with temperature and humidity control, according to a statement from the company.
