Fleming and Patrick Henry Buildings Come in on Time

Aerial shot of the new facilities nearing completion at William Fleming High School.
Aerial shot of the new facilities nearing completion at William Fleming High School.

With the completion of William Fleming High School, J.M. Turner will have delivered the second state-of-the-art Roanoke public high school, on time..

Both Patrick Henry (completed in January of 2008), and William Fleming (completion set for this month), utilized a practice called “construction management.”  The comprehensive approach applies strategic management techniques that allow for efficiency, from the architectural drawings, to setting the budget, to the final ribbon cutting.  With both schools, J.M Turner partnered with Rife and Wood Architects to meet two critical objectives, controling the project timeline and the costs, while assuring quality for the project owner – in this case, Roanoke City Public Schools.

The obvious benefit is the taxpayer’s best interests are represented from start to finish. Compensation is not contingent on the final cost of the project, thus eliminating conflicts of interest.  Costly changes are virtually eliminated due to advanced planning alongside the architects throughout the course of the project.

Patrick Henry High School
Patrick Henry High School

Patrick Henry’s first phase, completed at the end of 2005, included asbestos abatement and the subsequent demolition of existing structures, the construction of a new 3-story building that will house classrooms, dining services, the library and school administration.  Normal daily school functions occurred simultaneously during construction – allowing the students to watch the project up close, as well as play an earth-friendly role.

In an effort initiated by Robert Turcotte of Entre Computers, J.M. Turner, Rife + Wood, Cycle Systems, Roanoke City Schools, Patrick Henry High School and Clean Valley Council teamed together to provide students a unique experience related to the Phase I construction of their new high school.  Upon returning to school for the 2005/2006 academic year, students were offered the opportunity to manage a recycling program for construction material waste on the construction site of the new high school.  Under the guidance of the science department, interested students worked with Turner to coordinate the recycling of corrugated construction waste. Students spent a total of 79 hours on the project, including organizational meetings, waste container painting in school colors, and weekly hands-on recycling activities.  Ultimately, a total of 15,320 pounds of materials were recycled.

The new William Fleming High School replaces the existing campus-style facility, involving construction of a 2-story academic wing containing all of the core classrooms and laboratories, as well as the related teacher offices and work areas.  The academic wing shares a common lobby with the adjacent arts and athletic wings.  The lobby area houses the 2,500 seat game gym, auxiliary gym, locker rooms, training area, weight room and wrestling room, in addition to  the administration suite, teen health center, media center and a 500 seat cafeteria and kitchen.

The Fine Arts wing houses a 450 seat main theater and adjacent black box theater, band and chorus rooms, dance studio, art classrooms and photo lab. The classrooms and performance areas are all equipped with state-of-the-art data and communications systems, facilitating long distance learning opportunities.

The second phase of the project includes construction of two new field-sports practice fields, new baseball field, new softball field, and 6 new tennis courts. Separate parking areas provide parking for students, faculty, and visitors, as well as bus drop-off areas and bus parking.

The efficiency and cost control measures managed during construction of the school allowed for a separate but related project to include a new 3,000-seat football, soccer, lacrosse and track stadium on the site.

According to the Virginia Department of Education’s website, 16 new public high schools have been built in the state over the past 6 years.  These projects have added, or replaced, an average of 152.5 square feet per student, at an average cost of $165 per square foot.  In comparison, the new William Fleming building offers 166 square feet (almost 10% more space than the average) at a cost of $136 per square foot. When considering those statistics, Roanoke City Schools managed to build the new high school at a cost 17% less than the Virginia average.

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