District outlines next steps in CHHS project

[Editor’s Note: Angee Shaker, director of communications for the CH-UH City School District, provided the following update on the Heights High project. Three upcoming public meetings, where community members will have a chance to see plans and ask questions, are scheduled for July 15, Aug. 19 and Sept. 16. At the Sept. 16 meeting, the final design will be presented and construction managers will present a cost estimate.]

The high school project has now moved into the Schematic Design Phase which includes floor and site plans, the exterior design concept and cost estimates.

The Board of Education (BOE) approved the Program of Requirements (POR) at the June 17 board work session. The POR is a document that lists the spaces and sizes of spaces required to be included in the building as well as notes and other information necessary to begin the design of the floor plans such as how the spaces should relate to each other. The square footage allocations are subject to change as the plans are finalized. 

During the week of June 23, Gary Balog, architect, and his team from Balog, Steines, Hendricks & Manchester, met with all of the internal working groups to show a concept design of what the internal floor plan of the renovated Heights High may look like. The purpose of these meetings was to gather additional input about the preferred location of the spaces inside the building, how the spaces relate to each other, where major building entrances need to be, etc.

Balog and his team will then adjust the design based on the feedback from the internal working groups. During the week of July 7, the design team and internal working groups will review the changes and a preliminary site plan. The team will also meet with district leaders to review progress on the plans. During this phase of the design process, the construction management team of Gilbane/Ozanne will be working with the design team, calculating potential costs for the construction and keeping the project on track to stay within the established budget.

The BOE will hold three High School Design Project Special Meetings during the Schematic Design Phase:

At the July 15 special meeting, the design team will present a draft of the schematic floor and site plan to the board and community. This will include the floor plans of the building and a site plan indicating parking and traffic flow patterns. Immediately following the board presentation and discussion with the design team, community members will have an opportunity to ask questions and express what they like about the plans and share any concerns they may have.

During the Aug. 19 special meeting, the design team will provide another review of the site and floor plans and also present a concept of the exterior design for the renovated high school. Immediately following the board presentation and discussion, the community will again be able to ask questions and the team will collect additional information and reaction to the design from the community.

The expectation for the Sept. 16 special meeting is that the final Schematic Design Package will be presented and the Gilbane/Ozanne construction management team will present a cost estimate for the construction of this design. Prior to the board voting on the final schematic design and cost package, the community will have yet another opportunity to ask questions and make comments concerning the design and/or budget. Upon approval of the schematic design, the project will advance to the Design Development Phase.

Throughout the process, all questions and concerns about the project should be e-mailed to info@chuh.org.

To continue to follow the project and review past presentations, go to the Create the Future Blog at http://createthefutureheightsschools.org/.

Angee Shaker

Angee Shaker is director of communications for Cleveland Heights-University Heights City School District.

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Volume 7, Issue 8, Posted 9:58 AM, 07.01.2014