The beginning of a phased, three-year effort to update Benson Polytechnic High School is now in motion, with general contractor Andersen Construction seeking sub-bids for the start of demolition.

Benson, located at 546 N.E. 12th Ave., is one of three high schools being modernized by Portland Public Schools with money from a $790 million bond approved by voters in 2017. Construction is scheduled to begin in 2021; design and pre-construction work is ongoing.

Andersen Construction has issued a request for proposals for demolition and abatement, restoration of both wooden and steel window frames, and steel work in the buildings to remain on the renovated campus.

A mandatory pre-proposal walk-through at Benson is scheduled for 3:30 p.m. on Jan. 15, with an optional second one set for 3:30 p.m. on Jan. 22. All bids are due by Feb. 5.

The project, estimated to cost more than $330 million, is being designed by Bassetti Architects. The 102-year-old school is due to gain a host of new features, new classroom space and more. Plans call for a new, accessible front entry with a gathering area; a modernized auditorium with a retained balcony and updated lighting and AV equipment; a modernized gymnasium and indoor running track; a new student commons and cafeteria; a new outdoor courtyard; and a redesigned courtyard on the campus’ east side. All existing buildings will receive a seismic retrofit and other upgrades, and a pair of new, two-story classroom wings will be built.

Benson staff and students are expected to relocate to Marshall High School during construction.

Prospective bidders can learn more by visiting /news/2020/01/08/andersen-construction-benson-high-school-modernization-3/.

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Successful contractors often have a sweet spot – a type of project in which they excel because of past experience. For Woodburn-based Triplett Wellman Contractors, one of those sweet spots is the elementary school.

Triplett Wellman has at least seven such projects ongoing right now in Oregon and Washington, including one north of the Columbia River, in central Vancouver. The firm, with Darryl Giorgini serving as superintendent, is building a replacement for aged Walnut Grove Elementary School.

The project is being paid for with money from a $458 million Vancouver Public Schools bond approved by voters in February 2017. Construction is taking place on the same property, slightly east of the existing building that was constructed in 1952.

Bassetti Architects‘ design calls for a two-story building with three distinct wings.

As of Thursday, crews with Nutter Excavating were continuing to excavate foundation footings on the west end of the site, while operators of heavier machinery performed grading and other site work on the east side. In the middle of the site, a three-person crew from Piper Mechanical continued below-grade installation of wastewater lines, while another crew from Prairie Electric installed conduit.

“Right now we’re working our way out with the footings,” Giorgini said. “We did the perimeter, then the electrical underground and plumbing underground went in because the starting depth on the plumbing is deeper than your footings.”

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Structural steel erection for a new gymnasium at Tigard High School is wrapping up as crews approach the end of a two-year, $66 million expansion and renovation project.

The school, constructed during the postwar building boom, has received some 18 remodels over the years. General contractor Pence Construction is carrying out the latest improvements, thanks to money from a $291.3 million bond approved by voters in 2016.

“This high school was built in the 1950s; that was its first iteration,” said Eric Nesse, Tigard-Tualatin School District‘s bond support administrator. “It’s really been a Frankenstein job with many additions. Our architect has a little historic card with all the different colors from all the different remodels.”

The project, designed by Bassetti Architects, is taking place in two phases; renovations and new construction are covering a total of approximately 153,000 square feet. In the first phase, workers expanded an existing classroom wing for business and career and technical education, built a new wing with administrative space and a large common area highlighted by a learning stair, installed new turf for athletic fields, and constructed new tennis courts.

In the second phase, now under way, crews are building a new auxiliary gym that will connect with the new common area and an expanded cafeteria.

“There will also be the courtyard,” Nesse said. “And there’s a little breezeway that will be locked with a fence across it to the old building that will create a secure area. Looking into the auxiliary gym area, this is actually sort of a pit. There’s a walkway all the way around the gym that’s kind of sunken like a pit, with the basketball court down below at a lower level.”

All of that is now evident as completion of construction is now in sight.

“We’re in phase two, but there are still some odds and ends to take care of from phase one,” Pence Construction project superintendent Kurt Schwabauer said. “They’ve been using (the new wing) all year and everyone seems to be pretty happy.”

While DSL Builders of Salem is finishing structural steel work for the gym, Fred Shearer & Sons of Beaverton is building walls as well as connecting new structures with existing ones.

“The ironworkers are out there, and now the framers are here from Fred Shearer and they do the interior and exterior framing,” Schwabauer said. “They’ve got a pretty big package; they’re doing the interior and exterior framing (and) they’re doing the drywall and the insulation and the weather barrier.”

Fred Shearer & Sons also is performing finish carpentry and installing custom wooden ceilings throughout much of the new space. Other major subcontractors on the job include Prairie Electric and Oregon Cascade Plumbing & Heating.

“Oregon Cascade has our plumbing and heating package,” Schwabauer said. “Their labor force does the wet side of things, and then they’ve hired Salem Heating to do the dry side.”

For now, crews are scrambling to get roofing into place and the new gym dried in as spring approaches. This summer will mark two years of work on the project.

“With final phase 2 delivery, building turnover (will be) in early August and the parking lot will be done at the end of the summer,” Schwabauer said.

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With eight planned phases of construction, the Five Oaks Middle School expansion in Beaverton is a bigger management and logistics challenge than most.

The $28 million project is being carried out by construction manager-general contractor Kirby Nagelhout Construction Company. The designer is Bassetti Architects.

Because of the need to keep the school in operation during construction, work is being done in phases over more than three years. Phase one started in summer 2017 with abatement and cleaning. Then, in summer 2018, crews converted the school’s upper gym and adjacent spaces into nine new classrooms.

This past spring, the project shifted into high gear, as work started on phases 3 and 4A. After the school year ended, crews proceeded to build 13 new classrooms, new computer and science labs, teacher prep areas, conference rooms, new restrooms and a new entry vestibule. Also, the library was renovated and gymnasium sprinkler systems were replaced.

Currently, renovation of the school’s administrative offices is wrapping up.

Phases 4B, 5, 6, 7 and 8 will be completed during the coming fall and winter. Substantial completion is planned for winter 2020.

The project is being paid for with money from a $680 million bond approved by voters in 2014. Other bond projects for the Beaverton School District have included new middle and elementary schools built in 2016, and the new Mountainside High School completed by Hoffman Construction in 2017.

Replacement buildings for Vose and Hazeldale elementary schools have also been completed, while a replacement for William Walker Elementary School remains under construction. The replacement for the district’s Arts and Communication Magnet Academy is in the design stage.

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One of Portland’s most storied high schools is due to soon receive a major face-lift, and the Historic Landmarks Commission on Monday provided the project team with design advice. The modernization proposal for Benson Polytechnic High School calls for demolition of old buildings and contemporary upgrades, and commissioners said greater explanation of those decisions must be given before they could give approval.

Bassetti Architects has designed the project for Portland Public Schools. Three firms – KPFF (structural), PAE (mechanical) and BHE Group (civil) are handling the engineering, while Mayer/Reed is taking care of landscape architecture.

The school, at 546 N.E. 12th Ave., opened in 1917 after the district received donations from local logging magnate Simon Benson, who wanted to support a trade school in the city. Benson High was one of many schools that opened in Portland in the early 20th century, when the population was growing massively; its classical revival style was popular at the time.

Plans call for removal of the south wing and most of the north wing (apart from the iconic façade facing Northeast Irving Street). The team also plans to remove existing library and automotive buildings, which were added to the school decades after it opened.

Upgrades will be made to the front entry terrace, which sits on the west side of the 7-acre site, and the rear courtyard. The new north and south wings are to have a second story, which will be set back 20 feet from the outer walls of the first story.

The buildings at the front of the campus – including the main entrance, gymnasium and auditorium – will be preserved and retained for their current purposes. Vestibules will be added to the entrances of the auditorium and gym for safety, while the main entrance will be set back upon a terrace.

Glass and terra-cotta will be used throughout to create an aesthetic combining historic and contemporary elements. Floor, shop, studio, science lab and classroom areas will each be significantly larger than they are now.

Commissioners were mixed in their assessments of the design. They recognized that the project is still in the early planning stage, and will probably change before it is presented for final review.

“Generally, the site organization is probably how I’d have it,” Commissioner Matthew Roman said. “I think it’s a good plan overall.”

While commissioners had no issues with the materials used or the proposed aesthetics, they did raise questions concerning plans for the campus – in particular, why certain buildings would be removed. The entire school is considered a historic landmark, and several commissioners said that while they appreciated the iconic façade being preserved, the design team’s presentation did not sufficiently justify removing the wings.

“You need to let us know more of what you looked at,” Commission Chairwoman Kristen Minor said. “We need to be convinced.”

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When voters in 2016 approved a $291 million bond for construction in the Tigard-Tualatin School District, one of the clear beneficiaries was Tigard High School. Its existing campus opened in 1953 and was renovated about 15 years ago. But the bond provided $66 million for an expansion and remodel.

Crews are now about halfway through the two-year project, with Pence Construction serving as general contractor. Tradespeople are spread among a campus closed for summer vacation.

“At this moment we have everything from final touch-ups and punch list to brand new demolition starting that process and pretty much everything in between,” Pence Construction project manager Carl Schrank said.

Bassetti Architects designed the renovation and expansion with two main objectives: make the school easier to navigate and update the oldest classrooms. To that end, roughly 160,000 square feet of new space will be created over two phases. Some 100,000 square feet of old space has been demolished or will be in order to make room for the new space. Site utilities also will be installed.

On the west side or the campus, most outdoor classrooms are being demolished or moved elsewhere – except for the auto shop, which will essentially have walls built around it and become a part of the new building. Also on the main floor of this new building will be a ceramics room as well as space for information technology and engineering classes. On the second floor, the visual arts department, computer science class and wrestling room will gain new homes.

The most visible changes will be on the north side of campus fronting Durham Road. There, a new classroom wing is taking shape and is scheduled for completion by this fall. This wing also will house a secure new main entrance featuring a vestibule as well as administrative office space. A host of new classrooms will be on the second floor.

“We’ve got classroom space, continuing education, CE2 (Community Experience for Career Education) space and we’re building a new makers lab,” Schrank said. “We’re doing work in the auto shop, we’re putting in a new kitchen and serving area in, a large new commons area with a learning stair and a great big open space for gathering and learning.”

The new school wings have structural steel with slab-on-deck and slab-on-grade concrete. Metal stud framing makes up the interior. Unlike many school projects currently under construction, there are no tilt-up or elevated concrete wall panels involved. A membrane roof rounds things out along with a mix of materials on the exterior that includes metal panels, masonry and fiber cement panels.

“Everything is really on track,” Schrank said. “Everybody is working well. We’ve got a great group of subs, and we have been fortunate in that while we are working in and around the school and the students, we have no active remodels going in the school area.”

Crews are expected to achieve substantial completion of the second phase of construction, including a new auxiliary gymnasium, by August 2020.

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School construction will be taking place in Vancouver, Washington, for years to come.

In February 2017, voters approved a $458 million bond measure for Vancouver Public Schools. One year later, voters approved a $695 million bond measure for the city’s other school district – Evergreen Public Schools.

On Northeast 42nd Avenue, crews are working on one of the Vancouver Public Schools projects – a replacement for Truman Elementary. General contractor Todd Construction is overseeing the effort to erect a two-story building designed by Bassetti Architects. The new school will sit on the same property as the existing one, but in a different location.

Crews broke ground in January, and work has proceeded quickly. Ironworkers from several companies are erecting structural steel and laying rebar for foundation slabs, while Todd Construction self-performs carpentry.

“We’ve got some of the slab-on-grade foundation down and we’ve started the first section of structural steel,” Todd Construction superintendent Monte Carothers said at the project site last week. “There’s plumbing, electrical underground – everything to do with the foundation. And then as you can see, the ironworkers are there. Next week we’ll have the drywall contractor on-site and he’ll be starting his metal framing in that area.”

Additional slab-on-grade concrete and structural steel work is scheduled, Carothers added.

“The following week we’ll be going vertical in that same area out there,” he said. “It’s fun. Especially when you get to the stage where you’re pouring slabs, it starts changing fairly quickly.”

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Design work for a new Harry S. Truman Elementary School in Vancouver, Washington. The existing school, which opened in 1974, is one of several that Vancouver Public Schools is preparing to replace in the coming years.

Bassetti Architects has designed the new Truman Elementary School, which will have over 97,000 square feet of space and be able to serve as many as 720 students.

Renderings show the new school ranging from one story to two, with a prominent “Learning Stair” providing a substantial transition space. Also, break-out project spaces will allow students to work outside traditional classrooms, and dedicated music, art and creative movement areas will surround a secure, interior courtyard.

A dedicated fitness area, called the “fitnasium,” will be adjacent to a large commons area with access to outdoor play areas. The outdoor spaces will include a covered play area, playground equipment and nature-themed spaces.

An application for development review by Clark County planning department staff on Aug. 10. This gave district officials the green light to finalize the design and apply for building permits.

The new building will be built adjacent to the existing one, which will continue to be used until the new one is completed. It is expected to be ready for opening for the 2020-21 school year. Construction is scheduled to begin in early 2019.

Other project team members include Harper Houf Peterson Righellis Inc., a Portland firm providing civil and structural engineering, landscape architecture, public involvement and more, as well as Columbia West Engineering, which is providing geotechnical services.

For more information, contact Todd Horenstein, assistant superintendent for capital facilities planning for Vancouver Public Schools, at 360-313-1040 or todd.horenstein@vansd.org. – Josh Kulla

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Midsize builder Lease Crutcher Lewis is busy with public and private work in the Portland-metro area:

• Work on the $103 million Wizer Block project is under way in Lake Oswego. The controversial redevelopment will include 201 residential units and 42,000 square feet of retail space. Deconstruction of the Wizer shopping center has begun, with construction scheduled to conclude in fall 2017. Opponents have criticized the project for being too bulky and dense. Recently, a challenge of project approval was denied review by the Oregon Supreme Court.

• Lewis is modernizing Roosevelt High School in Portland’s St. Johns neighborhood. Demolition and site work for the $65 million project began in the summer. Construction of a new classroom building, a performing arts center and an athletic complex is under way. The historic auditorium building is undergoing a seismic upgrade and renovation to accommodate a new library and classrooms. Work should wrap up in fall 2017. The project is one of three major high school modernizations funded by a Portland Public Schools bond. The architect is Bassetti Architects.

• The Oregon Zoo‘s $48 million, 6.25-acre Elephant Lands habitat project, which began in February 2012, will finish later this fall. The Metro project includes an elephant viewing area and modifications to the zoo railway. The local architect is SRG, in partnership with CLR Design of Philadelphia. The project is the first in Oregon to incorporate cross-laminated timber, and the largest of those funded by a $125 million bond passed in 2008.

• Lewis is constructing a nine-floor tenant improvement for Stoel Rives at the Park Avenue West skyscraper. The project involves renovating 135,000 square feet to accommodate a two-floor conference center, five floors to serve attorneys and two floors to serve administrators. The construction value is $15 million.

• Lewis in spring 2016 will start a 175,000-square-foot headquarters renovation and addition for SAIF, Oregon’s not-for-profit state-chartered workers’ compensation insurance company. The project will include a seismic upgrade, a building façade modernization and a major addition.

Lease Crutcher Lewis in 2013 was the city’s 10th-largest general contractor, with $93.6 million in local billings. CEO Bart Ricketts splits his workweek between the firm’s Portland office above Tasty n Alder at 550 S.W. 12th Ave. and its Seattle office. The firm self-performs all concrete work and relies on predominantly union carpenters, laborers and operators, according to Lewis Marketing Director Janice Westcott. – Garrett Andrews

Builder’s Choice is a new 91��Ƶ feature offering a look at the projects being tackled by local architecture, engineering and construction firms. To have your firm’s projects considered, contact 91��Ƶ construction reporter Garrett Andrews at 503-802-7226 or garrett.andrews@djcOregon.com.

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This summer will see Portland Public Schools’ biggest construction season to date, spurred by the $482 million passed by voters in 2012.

During the summer of 2013, rehabilitative construction work was completed on six schools, and in 2014 major work was done on more 12 schools. But this summer’s work calls for the biggest effort yet: construction work at 29 schools, including major restoration and new buildings at Franklin and Roosevelt high schools.

Groundbreaking for construction at Roosevelt High will be at 10 a.m., May 2, while groundbreaking for work at Franklin High will be May 16 at noon.

In addition to the renovations at Roosevelt and Franklin, nine other Portland schools are in line for roof repair or replacement, seismic upgrades and American Disabilities Act improvements such as installing elevators at Ainsworth and Woodlawn schools, both K-12 schools. Another 18 schools will have work done to upgrade to sixth and eighth grade science classrooms, some also with ADA work.

The school district plans to spend about $35 million from June through August, said David Mayne, bond spokesman for the district. All the work so far has been on budget and on time, he said.

“Our long-range plan is to modernize all of our schools,” Mayne said. “Most were built before World War II, and they didn’t think about seismic or access back then in the way we do.”

The bond has a built-in annual audit, he said, which is near completion for this year and will be available in early summer. The audit report will be turned over to the Portland School Board next week, he said.

“I’m confident we’re doing great, but if there are any alarm signals, they will let us know,” he said.

The bond measure is also overseen by the Bond Accountability Committee, he said, comprised of volunteer experts who recently completed a quarterly review that will be presented at a future school board meeting.

Historic update for Franklin

Franklin High was built in 1915, Mayne said, and while the general façade and feel of the historic building will be preserved, it will be gutted and repurposed, and new buildings will be added to the campus, including the new Center for the Arts at the intersection of Southeast Woodward Street and Southeast 52^nd Avenue.

Franklin’s historic auditorium will be preserved, but will be converted to a two-story Media Center and the entrance to the original main building will be transformed to a two-story entry and lobby space. The school’s track and field will be realigned 90 degrees to make room for a new athletic gym and educational facility and new classroom spaces will be created for science, technology, engineering and math education, as well as Career Pathways programs that include culinary arts, the law and the Constitution, health science and biomedical, and industrial arts.

Project design for Franklin High is by the DOWA-IBI Group and SERA Architects, and the Skanska is prime contractor. The total budget for Franklin’s reconstruction is $106 million, with guaranteed maximum pricing of $81.8 million for the construction phase. Plans call for completion of the renovations at Franklin by all 2017, when classes will resume. During construction, Franklin students will attend Marshall High, which was closed in 2011 but has since been upgraded with money from the bond. Work at Franklin will begin after classes end in mid-June.

Roosevelt work under way

Prep work already has started at Roosevelt High, said school district spokeswoman Christine Miles. Several classrooms and the auditorium have been vacated, math classes are currently being held in the cafeteria, and a fence has been built close to the baseball field for a construction staging area. A heated tent will also be added at the site for physical education classes.

Bassetti Architects is in charge of design for the Roosevelt renovations and the general contractor is Lease Crutcher Lewis.

Students will remain at Roosevelt while the renovation is in progress, but with several changes to accommodate construction.

“They will have one or two portable buildings in front of the school, and when the kids return (in the fall) the school will look very different,” Miles said.

Work on Roosevelt High is set for completion in December 2017 and will be done in phases. Work this year includes demolition of the gym, music building and boiler room and followed by construction of a new gym, a new classroom wing, a new auditorium and student commons area cafeteria. The old auditorium will be made into a new media center. All are set to open in the fall of 2016.

The next construction phase at Roosevelt, which was built in 1921, is set to start in summer 2016 with renovation of the original buildings and construction of the second half of the student commons area. Some buildings will be demolished next summer and final site work and landscaping will be finished up in the fall of 2017, when all the modernized buildings will be open to students.

The total budget for reconstruction of Roosevelt High, which is smaller than Franklin, is $96 million with a guaranteed maximum pricing of $69.3 million during the construction phase.

The construction bond, which was approved by a two-thirds majority, was based on a citizen-developed and prioritized plan, according to the school district. In addition to Franklin and Roosevelt high schools, Grant High will also go through a full modernization with master planning set for this fall. Work at Grant will begin in summer 2017 and will be complete in time for students to return to their campus in fall 2019. Grant students will also attend school at the Marshall High campus during the construction of their new school.

Citizens in the Grant community are invited to serve in a design advisory committee, Mayne said, to help with the master planning process to modernize the school. Anyone interested can sign up .

To “fully modernize” a school rather than replace it depends on the age of the building, its historical significance, condition, deficiencies, size and needs, according to the bond website at http://www.pps.k12.or.us/bond.

“A full modernization addresses all of the deficient systems and significantly rehabilitates a school,” the site states. Improvements would ensure an efficient building system that is fully accessible and meets all codes.

The bond issue will also partly fund construction of a new Faubion School for prekindergarten through eighth grade that will include Concordia University’s School of Education. The PPS bond is funding $29 million for the new school. Concordia will provide land, resources and funding (from $7.5 million to $15.5 million) for the new facility that will also provide an early childhood education center, a health and wellness center and other services for the community.

The Faubion project is currently in the design phase and should be completely built by the fall of 2017. During construction, Faubion students will attend the Tubman School, starting in the fall of 2015. Faubion’s master plan was created in partnership with Boora Architects, PPS, Concordia University, Faubion staff, families, students and community members.

The school district’s long range plans for the health of its buildings will focus on three more high schools in the near future, Mayne said.

“Starting this fall we’re going to master plan three more high schools – Benson, Lincoln and Madison — with future construction of those high schools contingent on passage of a future bond measure,” he said. “We determined those three would be the next to be rebuilt.

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