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Construction work is in full swing on the last major project funded by Portland Public Schools‘ 2012 School Building Improvement Bond. A joint venture team of Andersen/Colas Construction is performing a Mahlum Architects-designed upgrade of Grant High School that will modernize and expand the school’s space while maintaining the historic look of the school, which was originally built in 1923.

Crews began work on the approximately $150 million project after the school year ended last June, and have since completed the mass demolition portion of the job – the razing of five non-historic expansions that were not part of the original structure. Interior demolition and abatement is ongoing and about 80 percent complete.

Construction of a new gymnasium has begun; excavation for the two-story structure is complete, and crews are starting to put down the rock pad for the gym’s foundation. The main floor of the new gymnasium is at a level below grade so that the structure fits in with the existing context of the neighborhood without towering over other structures.

Some temporary shoring has been completed, and crews are excavating for new courtyards. Excavation of foundations will continue until next January/February, with installation of structural steel set to begin at that time.

Unlike the previously-completed bond-funded renovations of Franklin and Roosevelt high schools and as a result of community input, the auditorium at Grant will remain in use as an auditorium. Murals and interior décor in the auditorium are being maintained, and the contractors and Heery International, the project manager, are working with the State Historic Preservation Office to maintain historically significant elements.

The construction team is targeting a dry-in date of fall 2018, which will include the new gymnasium and an addition to the building’s west side. Completion is slated for July 2019, and students will return to the campus – which will have a capacity for 200 more students – that fall.