When voters within the Beaverton School District in 2014 approved a $680 million bond measure – the largest school bond in Oregon history – district officials knew they had a huge task in front of them. To simplify that effort, one of their first decisions was to use one design for four new elementary schools.

DLR Group worked with the school district and the city of Beaverton to create a suitable design. Emerio Design and other firms also contributed to the effort, and now Kirby Nagelhout Construction is serving as general contractor. Crews have already built three of the schools – Sato, Vose and Hazeldale – and are now working on the fourth.

William Walker Elementary School is rising at 2350 S.W. Cedar Hills Blvd., slightly west of Oregon Route 217. It will replace a building demolished last summer, and offer 87,200 square feet – enough to accommodate up to 750 students, according to the district – on two stories.

“This is the fourth and last of a prototype build,” Beaverton School District project manager Megan Finch said. “(The previous building) was pretty much the original 1950s structure. There weren’t any sort of standards with the buildings (then), and we have a lot of variety, which is sort of hard to manage. So, one of the good things about these protos is that the maintenance is way easier. When you have a problem in one building you can bet it’s going to pop up in the others, so you take care of the others before it happens.”

The bulk of the classroom space will be on the upper floor, allowing use of skylights and ceiling-to-floor windows to let in substantial daylight and increase energy efficiency. A highly efficient thermal wheel, also known as a rotary heat exchanger, is being employed for the HVAC system to reduce energy costs even more.

“They’re beautifully bright (classroom) spaces, which I think is really helpful for the students,” Finch said. “It helps improve test scores, it improves learning, and it makes the environment better to be in, in my opinion.”

Currently, construction of William Walker is taking place in four main zones. In sector A, which will house special education classrooms and administrative space, interior metal-framed walls are in place and rough-in is in progress. Sector B includes the commons, cafeteria and gymnasium area; there, all the roof joists are in place and roof decking now covers the space. In sector C, crews are finishing erection of structural steel and installation of steel decking in preparation for the second-story concrete deck pour. Sector D, which will host mechanical and electrical rooms and other back-of-house functions, is roofed, framed and mostly roughed-in.

Also, massive concrete footings are being poured and additional formwork is being constructed for a 10,000-square-foot outdoor, covered play area.

The school district also is partnering with the Tualatin Hills Park & Recreation District on the project, due to the adjacent Cedar Hills Park. There, a new synthetic turf field and other amenities are being finished and will be made available to the school district. In return, the William Walker playground will be open to the public when school is not in session.

“And that’s really a thing for the whole community,” Finch said. “That park wasn’t really developed, and so they’ve put a bunch of improvements in there – bathrooms, (space for) different activities, volleyball, a splash pad and of course a synthetic turf field. It’s going to be quite an improvement.”

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