BYU Updates High School for Temporary Program Housing

Brigham Young University has begun "minimal" construction on a former Provo high school campus that the Utah institution purchased in 2016. The slightly remodeled building, part of a 25-acre site, will house some units from the College of Fine Arts and Communication temporarily, while the university constructs a new music building on the main campus. That project is expected to be done by the end of 2022.

According to student reporting, when the new 170,000-square-foot Music Building is completed, other departments in the College of Fine Arts will move to the high school, as the process of designing and planning for a new arts building is begun.

BYU music building
Photo credit: Brigham Young University

Improvements on the high school site include "fixing carpets and cabinets, making sure electrical outlets and capacity are correct, and replacing the information technology infrastructure."

The college will also invest "Inspiring Learning" funds into various student programs to cover the expense of other off-campus learning opportunities for student majors who attend classes in the high school site.

Initially, Provo High School leased back the site under a 30-month lease agreement, which enabled the school to use the property for free while the district constructed a replacement campus. That new building was finished in time for the 2018-2019 school year. The former high school acreage sits across the street from the main university campus.

About the Author

Dian Schaffhauser is a former senior contributing editor for 1105 Media's education publications THE Journal, Campus Technology and Spaces4Learning.

Featured

  • Houston-Area High School Breaks Ground on 117,000SF Multi-Use Facility

    North Shore Senior High School, part of Galena Park ISD in Houston, Texas, recently broke ground on a new multi-use facility for student extracurriculars, according to a news release. The North Shore Multi-Use Facility will include dedicated practice and training space for the school’s athletics and fine arts programs.

  • 144-Year-Old High-School Campus Debuts New Academic Facility

    San Diego High School (SDHS) in San Diego, Calif., recently held a ribbon-cutting ceremony for a new student services and classroom building; the project is part of a larger SDHS Whole Site Modernization project that began in 2022.

  • Photo credit: Elkus Manfredi Architects

    University of Virginia Selects Design-Build Team for New Residential Complex

    The University of Virginia in Charlottesville, Va., recently announced that it has selected a design-build team for a new upper-class residential development on campus, according to a news release. Capstone Development Partners—in partnership with Elkus Manfredi Architects and the Hoar Construction/Hourigan construction team—will move forward with the three-building, 310,000-square-foot housing facility.

  • How a Portable Sink Helped an Art Classroom Run More Smoothly

    Classroom design decisions can have outsized effects on instructional time and safety at schools juggling mismatched infrastructure, strict budgets, and crowded schedules — particularly in the arts. Between spilled paint and dirty brushes, art classes run smoother with a sink in the studio. But many schools don’t have a sink in every art classroom.