YPSILANTI, Mich. — In addition to the $1.6 billion in ongoing construction projects at the University of Michigan, several other higher education facilities in Michigan are undergoing improvement projects that will attract students to the state. Eastern Michigan University (EMU), located in Ypsilanti; Concordia University Ann Arbor; and Washtenaw Community College, also located in Ann Arbor, are all three undergoing major projects this year.
LINCROFT, N.J. — The Gillespie Group, based in East Brunswick, N.J., recently installed new flooring in the Counseling, Admission and Registration Building at the Lincroft campus of Brookdale Community College. The commercial flooring provider was able to complete the installation within a two-week holiday break before students returned to school.
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Construction on the UNC Charlotte campus is underway as students prepare to return for school in the fall. Approximately $70 million will be spent on more than a dozen projects throughout the next year.
COLCHESTER, U.K. — The University of Essex in Colchester is planning to construct the largest and deepest pool ever built for space exploration study. Blue Abyss, the company helping to plan and design the pool, hopes it will also serve as a facility for astronaut training, dive training and testing new sea technologies.
TRENTON, N.J. — A new 59-page report issued by the New Jersey School Security Task Force, a multi-agency group tasked with identifying ways to improve security at New Jersey schools, outlines more than 40 recommendations for increasing student and teacher safety. These include establishing a School Safety Specialist Academy, improving emergency response times and increasing the use of trained school resource officers.
APOPKA, Fla.— The 90,637-square-foot Dream Lake Elementary School building in Apopka is currently undergoing a $17.9 million renovation to house more students and improve technology. The demolition has already begun and the Orange County Public School district has said that the school, which sits on a 16.4-acre site, is set to reopen in the fall of 2016.
The renovation will allow Dream Lake Elementary School, which had an original rated capacity of 460 students, to hold an additional 370 (for a total capacity of 830). The school’s current enrollment is 824.
STATE COLLEGE, Pa. — Penn State’s Board of Trustees Committee on Finance, Business and Capital Planning approved proposals on July 16 for renovations to the Deike Building on the State College campus as well as an agricultural digester and replacement barns in the dairy research complex.
PATERSON, N.J. — Paterson School District leaders marked the topping out of the new P.S. 16 Elementary School with a ceremony and beam signing on July 1. The event marked a significant milestone in construction on the new 109,500-square-foot school. Immediately following the signing, attendees watched as the steel beam was hoisted into place, completing the school’s steel gymnasium structure.
WINTER GARDEN, Fla. — In an attempt to relieve overcrowding at West Orange High School, located in Winter Garden, the district will construct a new relief high school designed by SchenkelShultz Architecture of Orlando.
FORT RUCKER, Ala. — Plans to replace Fort Rucker Elementary School — part of the Fort Rucker Army Base — are underway now that Orlando, Fla.-based SchenkelShultz has been selected as the project’s architect. SchenkelShultz was awarded the 133,542-square-foot project under the firm’s Indefinite Delivery/Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) contract with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Norfolk District.
