The month of August … the first few weeks of school … wrapping up summer projects … dealing with the extreme heat.  Bring on September, please!

September begins with some time to reflect on all that was accomplished during the summer and then quickly turn to planning, planning, and more planning.

Thanks to our Scottsdale Community and its trust in us, the District Additional Assistance (Capital) override that was passed last fall has added a host of new projects to our long list of things to do. From new shade structures and small landscape improvements to minor building improvements and new student furniture, this first year of the Capital override will see just over $2.5 million spent on our campuses.

Additionally, we will finalize plans for the last of the 2016 Bond projects on our list. Cochise, Sequoya, Anasazi, Cheyenne, Desert Canyon, Laguna, and Redfield will each be the beneficiary of some campus beautification projects.

Lastly, our team continues to work with the Arizona Department of Administration (ADOA) and its Division of School Facilities (formerly the Arizona School Facilities Oversight Board) to execute nearly $22 million worth of Building Renewal Grants for Saguaro, Chaparral, Tonalea, and Mohave roofing and weatherization projects. Our team is small, efficient, and always looking to do great things for our Scottsdale students and staff!

In our October update, we look forward to sharing our upcoming projects in greater detail.

Dennis Roehler
Director
Building Services

Read more at The SUSD Source

Our main focus during Summer 2023 has been wrapping up the full rebuild of Pueblo Elementary School, begun just over a year ago, and completing new additions and renovation projects at Tavan Elementary School.

The brand new Pueblo will be ready to welcome its Dust Devil students next week, when the new school year begins. Teachers and staff have been moving in during the past week or so, and the new campus is already getting rave reviews. Our design team at BWS Architects and Construction Manager at Risk (CMAR) McCarthy Builders worked together closely to bring about a terrific new campus that will serve the Pueblo community for many, many years to come. The original Pueblo opened in 1971. 

Over in the Arcadia Learning Community, additions and renovations to portions of the Tavan campus give it a nearly new appearance. Our SPS+ Architects and CORE Construction CMAR design team created and implemented an impressive plan that included:

• the construction of a new building to house art and gifted classrooms
• the remodeling of the former administration building to bring early childhood programs back on the Tavan campus from across the street, eliminating the need for the school’s youngest Wildcats to cross Osborn Road to get to the main campus
• the installation of a new, one-of-a-kind, structural shade canopy to provide additional outdoor P.E. space and
• a completely redesigned parking lot at both the front and back of the campus.

Tavan first opened in 1955.

Both projects had to overcome post-COVID supply chain issues, but our teams met every challenge thrown their way. We couldn’t be more proud of the new education environments being delivered to the Pueblo and Tavan communities, thanks to voters’ investment in the future of SUSD nearly seven years ago.

The month of June brings the end of the old and the beginning of the new. This week, the demolition of the old campus will begin and will continue into the first few weeks of July. As the demolition work unfolds, new parking lots and sidewalks will be constructed.

Progress on the new buildings is moving along perfectly. Interior finishes such as paint, tile, flooring, and cabinets are being installed in all three new buildings. Landscaping and site sidewalks will be completed in late June. Supply chain issues, although they did have an impact early on in this build, appear to be a thing of the past for this project. Critical infrastructure components such as electrical panels and HVAC equipment have all been installed and are ready for start-up.

We are looking forward to our partners, McCarthy Builders and BWS Architects, bringing this project to completion in early July!

Check out this photo gallery for a few more progress pics!

April and May brought the Tavan campus a new administration building, as well as a new art and gifted classroom building. For the next several weeks, the contractor is working on the removal of the old parking lots in order to expand and reorganize student drop-off/pick-up queuing, the bus lane and staff parking. There will also be a new kindergarten playground and outdoor P.E. space will be built during the next few months.

The amount of work that is being compressed into our eight-week summer is significant, so the entire Tavan campus is closed to all personnel. We are confident that our contractor, CORE Construction, and architectural firm, SPS+ Architects, will bring this project to a close just before the new school year gets underway.

Summer time is always a very busy time for our folks in Building Services, with dozens and dozens of projects, big and small, happening to prepare our campuses for the new school year.

Enjoy your summer, and we will see you all again in August!

Read more at The SUSD Source

Since April 22^nd, the project has experienced two major milestones that have given the project’s schedule a real boost: AC units were delivered and installed, and the paving of the bus lane/staff parking lot was completed. Looking forward into May, much of McCarthy’s attention will be on site work ‒ installing sidewalks, beginning the landscaping, and interior finishes, such as paint and millwork (classroom cabinets). There is still a lot of work to be done, but the team is more confident than ever that the project will be completed on time and be ready for students in August.

Friday, April 21^st was moving day for the Administration Building. With the help of a great moving vendor and a fantastic team made up of Tavan staff, IT, and Building Services staff members, the transition was nearly seamless. Tavan now has a new face to its campus! Transitioning into the month of May, CORE Construction is now focusing on the old admin building, working to transform it into four Pre-K/PANDA classrooms, an ALC classroom, and a reading resource space. This transformation is expected to be completed in time for students’ return in August.

Summer planning for a multitude of projects is still underway. While supply chain issues seem to be softening, labor forces are still completely maxed out.

Read more at The SUSD Source

The month of March has been very busy, but a little too rainy for our liking in the construction world.  The rain has set us back a few days, which will make April the month to get caught up and ready to finish strong.  In April, we will see Building C ‒ “the classroom building” ‒ get fully dried in, with the roof being installed, along with all the windows.

Towards the end of April, McCarthy, the construction company, expects that it will start the process of laying concrete through the central spine of the campus courtyard. Despite the rain in March, all of the underground utilities are nearly complete and the A Building that contains the administrative spaces and the media center is looking very much like a real building, inside and out. The interior walls are all framed and insulated, with drywall, tape and texture happening last week and into this first week of April.  The B Building that is home to the fine arts classrooms, P.E. spaces and the cafeteria also saw significant progress in March and will soon see the last of the interior walls being finished, along with the HVAC ductwork, electrical, and plumbing.

As we roll into April, this building will also be fully dried in, with the roof and windows being installed.  Pueblo’s construction has not been without supply chain issues that have threatened several of our major milestones to completing this project on time. This past week, we received great news in two areas of concern: Both the Services entrance section and the HVAC equipment delivery dates were bumped up to a much more favorable timeline to help us maintain the original construction schedule. The team is very excited about the progress!