Remodel Tag

Site crews are making swift milestones at Swope Middle School, as students and staff begin to experience school life in the brand new facilities.

“We are excited to see the student body taking advantage of the new buildings,” said Casey Gunther, Operations Manager for United Construction. “From the sports games inside the gym to the concrete walls rising in the kitchen, our work is taking shape quickly, and it’s evident in all of the expansions and renovations thus far.”

Workers continue to make progress at the site of the two-story classroom building, digging out and replacing soil and completing the installation of the underground utilities. Concrete slab pours have begun and will commence in the early morning, and footings will soon be installed; both will continue throughout the season. This building will also hold the new-and-improved school library. In the interim, students are making use of a temporary library that is set up in the activity room of the new gymnasium.

Also within the gym, the new court hosted its first event towards the beginning of the month – a student basketball game. The players enjoyed the modernized basketball hoops and revamped scoreboard, while the audience cheered from the new bleacher seats.

Swope neighbors and families will be pleased to know that students will continue to learn without interruption; crews will continue using sound blankets when needed to block out major construction noise.

Coming up, students at the school will be able to learn about the construction going on right around them. As a part of a newly-created Ambassador Program, industry professionals will visit the students and speak to them all about contracting, architecture, design, engineering and more.

This Fall will welcome swift and notable progress at Swope Middle School, as both expansions and new construction continue to go smoothly and efficiently.

“With the new season comes new milestones at Swope,” said Casey Gunther, Operations Manager for United Construction. “Students and staff will be excited to learn that several facilities will be ready to use in the coming weeks, including the new gym. We look forward to even more progress as Fall continues on.”

Site crews have completed excavations at the location of the new two-story classroom building. Workers continue to make progress as the underground utilities are near completion. When finished, the building will house a new resource center, math and science classrooms, a technology lab, a new teachers’ lounge and workspace, social science and language classrooms, a group room for various activities and a hub space.

The remodel and expansion of the kitchen facilities are progressing and making great headway. Additionally, the new gymnasium will be ready for games at the beginning of October, where students can enjoy the revamped basketball hoops, volleyball courts and a scoreboard. The new fitness center will also be ready to use soon.

More concrete slabs will be poured at various locations throughout the month of October. Setting of concrete masonry unit (CMU) block walls will follow directly after the pours are complete and will continue until the end of the calendar year.

As WCSD settles into the beginnings of the 2021-2022 school year, United Construction and their subcontractors are hard at work making way for more new and remodeled classrooms and buildings at Swope Middle School.

“It is exciting to see the students and staff at Swope begin to use the new-and-improved facilities this school season,” said Casey Gunther, Operations Manager for United Construction. “We are all beginning to see a ‘light at the end of the tunnel’ in terms of the phased construction process, and we look forward to continuing the remodels and moving forward with work on the new building wing.”

The aforementioned building wing will be a new two-story classroom building in the location of the former gymnasium, which has been completely demolished. It will house a new resource center, math and science classrooms, a technology lab, a new teachers’ lounge and workspace, social science and language classrooms, a group room for various activities and a hub space.

In the new gym, the hardwood flooring is complete. On the floor, students can enjoy the revamped basketball hoops, volleyball courts and a scoreboard. The new fitness center will be also be ready to use in the near future.

Band and choir students will soon be able to take advantage of the new music practice rooms, as site workers near completion on the remodels. Additionally, the remodel on the kitchen facilities are now underway.

Up next for the construction team are excavations, followed by the installation of underground utilities directly after excavations are complete.