Schools

$42M of Modernizing Upgrades Coming to Spring Valley, La Mesa High Schools

A roundup of spring construction updates at GUHSD schools, including Helix Charter and Mount Miguel.

Submitted by Grossmont Union High School District

Grossmont Union High School District (GUHSD) announced today that significant progress continues to be made on major campus improvement projects throughout the district as part of the Proposition H and U school bond program.

At Helix Charter High School, work is nearly complete on a new 34,000-square-foot performing arts complex, with a 410-seat theater, “black box” for theater-in-the-round, dance studio, digital music lab, band room, choral room, scene shop, costume shop and recital rooms. Construction, which includes significant site work and front entry redesign, is valued at $15.15 million.

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Modernization work on Building 700 West at Mount Miguel High School is in back-check at DSA. With a construction value of $5.6 million, the 24,000-square-foot project includes performing arts classrooms, a black box theater, choir room, band room, ASB offices and a kitchen modernization. A bid award is expected in June.

At Grossmont High School, construction is wrapping up on a new two-story, 59,000-square-foot humanities building, which includes 31 state-of-the-art classrooms. A free-standing elevator and stair tower creates a new portal to the campus and a distinctive architectural feature. The building also includes a new Career Technical Education (CTE) facility for automotive technology with three service bays. The construction cost was $16.75 million. Phase two of construction on new auto shop and tennis courts will begin as soon as school lets out for the summer recess, which will add four courts to the six that were completed last year.

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At Monte Vista High School, work valued at $8.1 million, was recently completed, including a and chiller/boiler plant, modernization of Buildings 500 and 600, and stadium ADA repairs. The existing physical education facility is currently in design development, with a construction budget of $4.4 million. Project bidding is expected in the second quarter of 2014. A new sewer line is also being installed on the campus, at a cost of $325,000, with completion expected in May.

To improve security on all of its campuses, GUHSD consulted with local law enforcement to identify potential concerns and is currently painting building identifications on all of its building rooftops. Completion is scheduled for May 31, at a cost of $45,000.

Proposition U is a $417 million general obligation bond measure passed by voters in November 2008. When combined with projected state funding, the estimated program budget is $601.7 million. The program makes significant progress toward the modernization of district schools, providing classrooms and equipment for Career Technical Education, multi-purpose facilities to support the superintendent’s vision for the arts in education, and the construction of a new high school in the Alpine/Blossom Valley area. More than $197 million in Prop U funds have been expended to date.

Proposition H is a $274 million general obligation bond measure passed by voters in March 2004. When combined with state dollars and other funds, the program budget is $326.9 million. The program includes student safety improvements, upgrades and expansion of technology and other infrastructures, renovations of outdated classrooms and the construction of new science classrooms. $323 million of Prop H funds have been expended to date and the balance is committed for the District Office ADA upgrades and the ELITE Academy.

Other GUHSD construction updates:

At El Cajon Valley High School, plans are under final review at the California Division of the State Architect (DSA) for the construction of a new physical education facility, valued at $6.1 million, to replace the old boys and girls PE buildings that were no longer serving the campus efficiently. Currently, modernization of the campus’ Building 300 is underway to include complete renovation of nine classrooms, ADA-compliant restrooms, teacher work rooms, new lockers, dual-glazed windows, energy-efficient lighting and HVAC, modern interior and exterior finishes, and campus landscaping. The construction budget is $2.8 million.

Also at El Cajon Valley High School, Building 400 was stripped down to the framing and rebuilt with modern materials and methods in late-2012. It now features a new student-staffed, full-service restaurant known as the Wigwam, as part of the school’s two-year culinary arts CTE pathway program. The 15,200-square-foot building also features eight classrooms and new student restrooms. Buildings 700 North and 700 South were also modernized, with classrooms for the business and finance pathways and video production, printing and graphics programs. All three buildings were completed on budget at $7.5 million.

In the next few weeks, ADA upgrades on the restrooms and concessions at El Capitan High School in Lakeside will be complete. The new physical education facility is currently in DSA review, with a projected bid award in late-June. With a construction value of $5.9 million, the facility will include boys and girls PE locker and team rooms (Title IX compliant), wrestling/aerobics/multi-purpose room, PE teacher/athletic trainer offices and a new weight room.

At Granite Hills High School in El Cajon, modernization work has been completed on classrooms in Building 60 and Building 130 (including the special education suite). Portable Building 170 will be demolished this summer. The new Administration and Student Support Building, which is in the schematic design phase, will house the school’s administration, finance and admissions staff as well as the career center and guidance counselors, with construction valued at $3.9 million. Building 30 and Building 80, which are currently in the design phase, will be modernized into 12 classrooms, housing two computer labs, with construction costs of $2.7 million.

At Santana High School in Santee, a new 33,000-square-foot student plaza was completed last Fall to remove 12 unused relocatable classroom buildings. Schematic design is nearly complete for the modernizations of Building 400 (featuring culinary arts and video production classrooms), Building 500 (converting classrooms to a weight/fitness room and shaded outdoor workout area) and Building 700 (to include two special education suites with focus rooms, 3D/2D art classroom with an outdoor kiln, nurse suite, psychologist exam room, speech therapist exam room and two restrooms). Modernization work on these three buildings is valued at $6 million.

At Valhalla High school in El Cajon, schematic design will be completed in May for the entire main building, which includes four levels, 75 academic classrooms, as well as choir, art, technology and CTE classrooms, administration and guidance services. Construction is valued at $20 million.

Sixty-foot high safety nets are being designed at Steele Canyon High School in Spring Valley to prevent foul balls from the baseball and softball fields from injuring students on the running track or striking cars on State Route 94. Construction is valued at $250,000. 

At West Hills High School in Santee, phase one of an ADA study for work valued at $500,000 is now complete, with design at approximately 10 percent. Phase one of an HVAC study, for work valued at $1.2 million, is 10 percent complete.

The Local Agency Formation Commission (LAFCO) consent of the 12th High School property annexation into the County of San Diego sanitation system was presented to the County Board of Supervisors on April 8 and approved.

Design development is complete for ELITE Academy, which is a special education facility for non-public school students. The District is actively working to provide special education facilities for students currently dispersed in programs throughout the county. ELITE Academy will be housed in an 18,000-square-foot classroom facility offering culinary and life skills, a fitness center and multi-purpose room. Program validation and estimates are being reviewed with a targeted bid date of late-Fall. Construction is estimated to cost $5.1 million.

At Chaparral High School in El Cajon, two new CTE buildings, totaling 14,000 square feet and $10 million in construction costs, are being constructed to include construction tech, art, science, technology, floral and cosmetology. The project also includes the installation of MERIT Academy, a special education facility, as well as a new site parking lot. Bid advertisement began on April 17.

Modernization work, valued at $16.2 million, continues at the GUHSD District Office, adjacent to Grossmont High School in La Mesa. The two buildings, which have been in service for nearly 90 years, are receiving comprehensive utility, environmental and seismic renovations to meet current building safety codes, ADA and Path of Travel standards. Structural steel installation is continuing, along with framing and sections of building slab on grade. The project is scheduled for completion in January 2014.


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