Add as a preferred source on Google

Duval County Public Schools Breaks Ground on New Middle School

  • By Matt Jones
  • 04/25/23

Duval County Public Schools in Jacksonville, Fla., recently celebrated a groundbreaking ceremony for a new middle school, according to a news release. Chaffee Trail Middle School will play home to students in grades 6–8 and is currently scheduled to open before the start of the 2024–25 school year. The district partnered on the project with architecture and engineering firm Zyscovich, LLC, and Gilbane Building Company.

Funding for the $50-million construction project comes from a $1.7-billion capital improvement program involving a half-cent sales tax that local voters approved in 2020. The new facility will measure in at 124,259 square feet and include amenities like 26 classrooms, a Career and Technical Education Center, science demonstration labs, skills development labs, and Exceptional Student Education classrooms, according to local news. The new school will have a capacity for 994 students.

“We are committed to building a better future for the communities in which we live and work and for the generations to come,” said Gilbane Building Company Area Manager Adam Verducci. “With that, we as a company have committed to generating $4 billion in awards over five years to certified minority and women-owned businesses (M/WBE), disadvantaged, LGBTBE, and veteran-businesses enterprises and are proud to work alongside a local Minority/Woman owned environmental partner and other small and diverse partners for construction management support and outreach.”

The new school will feature outdoor athletic amenities for football and soccer baseball and softball, tennis, basketball, and track, the news release reports.

Other new projects being funded by the capital improvement plan are set to include a $58-million new high school and a replacement facility for Rutledge Pearson Elementary, local news reports.

About the Author

Matt Jones is senior editor of Spaces4Learning. He can be reached at [email protected].

Featured

  • DLR Group Appoints New K–12 Education Practice Leader

    Integrated design firm DLR Group recently announced that it has named its new global K–12 Education leader, Senior Principal Carmen Wyckoff, AIA, LEED AP, according to a news release. Her teams have members in all 36 of the firm’s offices in the U.S., Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Europe, and Asia.

  • Malibu High School Campus Completes $102M Phase 1 of Construction

    Malibu High School in Malibu, Calif., recently announced that it has completed phase 1 of construction for its new campus, a news release reports. The first phase consisted of developing and modernizing the site of a former elementary school into a new, 70,000-square-foot, two-story facility.

  • Empowering People Through Smart, Sustainable Campuses

    Sustainability is facing increasing scrutiny, with some questioning its costs and priorities. Yet for universities, it remains an essential driver of resilience, operational efficiency and long-term competitiveness. At the same time, there is a growing recognition that sustainable transformation is not just about reducing energy consumption and emissions to comply with tightening regulations ‒ it’s about creating vibrant, comfortable environments where people can thrive, innovate and connect. For university leadership, this is a complex balancing act, with rising energy costs and limited budgets only adding to the challenge.

  • New eBook Shares Guidelines on Building CTE Centers

    Career and Technical Education (CTE) curriculum and resources provider iCEV recently announced the publication of a new eBook sharing guidance and insights on building new CTE facilities, according to a news release.

Digital Edition