A two-year project to modernize and expand Grant High School is drawing to a close, with crews putting the finishing touches on the campus in preparation for the return of students later this month.

The $158 million project is the last to be completed under Portland Public Schools‘ 2012 construction bond, a $482 million capital measure that funded two previous high school modernization projects and multiple other improvements throughout the district.

The main school building and gymnasium were originally constructed in 1923, and multiple expansion wings and new structures were added to the ten-acre campus over the ensuing decades. After the demolition of five non-historic structures, the school now consists of two buildings – an expanded main building with added classroom space and new gymnasium, and a new visual arts center located in the original 1923 gymnasium building.

Due to the school’s classification as an Oregon Historic Site, maintaining its appearance and aesthetic was a top priority. The project team paid close attention to preserving details including masonry color, interior stained glass signage and intricate decorative terra cotta column work.

“It’s very important for us to preserve the existing building because it’s iconic,” said David Mayne, spokesman for the PPS bond program. “So we did that, and at the same time we’ve enhanced a number of things, including adding a whole new section to make the building wider.”

A two-story steel-framed addition extended the building west by roughly 50 feet and created a double-corridor space with three rows of programming, including new classrooms and a student commons area. The structural expansion also provides a new ADA-compliant connection with the remodeled auditorium, which was previously connected to the main building via ramps due to a change in grade between the buildings.

“We did a lot of brick repair and one of the things that happened when they built this in 1923 is that the mortar was stronger than the bricks,” said Jaime Hurd, PPS capital projects coordinator. “And it had been damaging them for the last 80 years. So we actually replaced all the bricks on this façade and we’ve been doing terra cotta repair, so it gives it that historic look and makes it much more weatherproof.”

A secure entry vestibule leads to a new three-story staircase intended to be the central hub of the school. The stairway serves to connect the entrance with the auditorium, student commons and a new basement maker space, and will also function as a learning stair as it descends the building’s lower level.

A southwest addition includes a new library, a gymnasium with capacity for 1,700 spectators, an auxiliary gym, wrestling room and weight room.  The complete restoration of the school’s auditorium, built as an expansion in 1927, also includes a new 165-seat black box theater, dance studio and student flex space.

On the exterior, crews are finished replacing both the masonry as well as windows styled to match the appearance of the original frames.

“These are all historic replacement historic windows and we’ve utilized the full height of the windows,” Hurd said. “The modernization really took everything right down to the (concrete) structure. There really wasn’t anything left here but the concrete, and then of course we built it back up and performed all the seismic upgrades and ADA upgrades.”

Mahlum Architects is the designer of the project, with Mayer/Reed Inc. taking on the landscape architecture. Further, the Andersen Colas Construction joint venture is the CM/GC contractor, and CBRE|Heery is serving as project manager.

The project is on course to be completed in time for the opening of school on Aug. 28, and a grand opening celebration is scheduled for Sept. 7.

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Ironworkers with Raimore Construction are erecting a steel-framed expansion to serve the main Grant High School building in Northeast Portland as part of an approximately $150 million modernization project. The expansion will widen the existing building by about 50 feet, creating a double-corridor space with three rows of programming space. The structure also includes a new ADA-compliant connection between the main building and the adjacent auditorium, which were previously connected with ramps due to a grade change between the buildings.

The ironworkers have been working on the project steadily since February, and will remain at work on site through 2018. Raimore’s scope of work also includes installation of steel for the seismic bracing of existing structures. Completion of the Mahlum-designed project, being built by the Andersen/Colas Construction joint venture and managed by CBRE | Heery, is slated for summer 2019.

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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.

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