Jackson College Construction Attracts More Students

JACKSON, Mich. — Construction is underway on a new dormitory at Jackson College, while renovations at the school’s Bert Walker Hall are scheduled to start in May.

Ground was broken in September 2014 on Campus View 3, the third student dormitory at the school’s central campus, and work is scheduled for completion in August. Independence, Mo.-based Student Suites Inc. funded the $10 million dorm through private investment bonds. The college will spend about $500,000 for furnishings and an additional $400,000 for technology, reported . Indianapolis-based CPM Construction is serving as the project’s general contractor, while Overland Park, Kan.-based Hollis + Miller Architects is the architect.

Jackson College pursued the project to provide more on-campus housing space for students since both existing dorms are currently full and some students were put on a waiting list this past fall. The additional housing space will attract more students and, in turn, mean more revenue for the school.

The new four-story dormitory will include 202 beds — 200 for students and two suites for managers. It will feature two- and four-bedroom units with one restroom for every two bedrooms, a living area, and a mini-fridge and microwave in place of a full kitchen.

Safety was built into every level and unit within the building, which was designed to be energy efficient and also features a pitched roof — important in Michigan winters. The facility is fully handicapped accessible, with two elevators, common study spaces, lounge areas and two laundry rooms. It also features state-of-the-art technology and will be Internet- and cable-ready, according to Marilynn Fryer, a spokesperson for the university.

The project is still on schedule for completion in August, despite the cold Michigan weather that has caused some challenges and delays during the construction process, Fryer added.

Renovation has yet to begin on the college’s Bert Walker Hall project, but work is scheduled to start in May after the current semester finishes. Walker Hall is the last of the Central Campus’ original academic buildings (built over 40 years ago) to be renovated, Fryer said.

The existing building will be completely upgraded, with modern classrooms, student spaces and the addition of a second elevator. Additional space will be added on the north end to allow two large lecture and community areas, with the south side to be renovated to create an outdoor, canopied terrace area for students. It will feature all new mechanical, electrical and plumbing infrastructure, and new exterior windows and doors.

The college’s student services, Center for Student Success, and administrative and dean’s offices will be relocated out of Walker Hall starting in March to make way for renovations, which are expected to take 18 months, MLive reported. Stantec, with offices across Michigan, is serving as the architect on the project; Ann Arbor, Mich.-based OX Studio is the designer; and locally based RW Mercer is the construction manager.

The second phase of renovations to Jackson College’s W.J. Maher Campus in Blackman Township are also underway and expected to be completed by the end of March, according to MLive. The work is being funded through gifts to the Jackson College Foundation and rent payments from current occupants. The project will add three classrooms, science space, breakout rooms, a student lounge and patio, and upgraded faculty lounge. The foundation purchased the building in 2012.

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Joplin Schools Rebuilt on Same Site

JOPLIN, Mo. — The linked campus of Soaring Heights Elementary and East Middle School opened in Joplin in early January. Both schools needed to be rebuilt after they were struck by the May 2011 tornado that devastated the Joplin community and killed 161 people. In total, 10 buildings in the Joplin School District were damaged due to the tornado.
Kansas City, Mo.-based Hollis + Miller Architects designed the two schools, which were rebuilt on the same site of the previous facilities.
“Because we were giving the community back something that they had lost, the project had a lot more emotion,” said John Brown, vice president of Hollis + Miller Architects. “Our whole team really embodied what they went through. We worked with the school district for a week on helping them recover. We felt more like a family and more connected through the design process.”
Before the tornado, the Joplin School District had already wanted to upgrade its schools to meet 21st century learning standards and had hired Hollis + Miller to help. Because of this, the school district came into the project with a good idea of what they wanted from an academic standpoint and allowed the firm to expand on those ideas.
“They pretty much said, ‘It’s not the past it’s the future. You guys do what you think is the right thing to do,’” Brown said. “This allowed us as an architectural firm to expand on the ideas of learning to really create the appropriate type of spaces for those students. Some kids learn differently, so the goal was to find an opportunity for learning in every space of the buildings.”
The design team decided to build the two schools together for both educational and financial reasons. The educational reason addressed the fact that kids learn at different speeds, so building the schools on the same campus allowed for the opportunity of mentoring. For instance, a very intelligent sixth grader could go and take a class with the eighth graders and vice versa.
Economically, building the schools on one campus allowed for both schools to have the same central plant and kitchen as well as an auditorium in the middle of the building. This physically made it a more responsible building.
While both schools are situated on the same campus, they still have individual elements that address the ages of the students occupying them. For instance, the design team created an outdoor learning park at the elementary school that features a tree house, tinkering room and theater.
On the middle school side, the key components are based on the ideas of students knowing who they are and being able to find their way. The design team created six houses in the middle school. Each house is defined by a color so that the students have easy wayfinding to their house. Each house has a living room with multiple learning opportunities. For instance, some of the spaces have retractable walls available for large groups of students to have one lecture at the same time. There is also a learning center for teachers, so they can all do lesson planning together. The teachers are not in assigned classrooms so any teacher can take any classroom space.
“My proudest moment working on the project was not only seeing the faces of the students, but also the teachers going into these spaces,” Brown said. “From the first day we started with Joplin in November 2011, it was about getting to know who the teachers were and what they were about. We got to know them as people and as educators. We talked about what their dreams were and from that came these buildings. For me, the project was about seeing all the different things that they told us come to fruition in a building that they were able to use. Once they got into it, they said it’s exactly what they wanted and needed.”

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Jackson College Construction Attracts More Students

Joplin Schools Rebuilt on Same Site