Tuskegee Airmen Global Academy Project Marks Key Milestone

JE Dunn Construction recently celebrated the placement of the final steel beam in the framing of a new Tuskegee Airmen Global Academy elementary school for Atlanta Public Schools (APS).

At a midday “topping out” ceremony, workers, vendors, suppliers and APS representatives scrawled their signatures on the eight-foot symbolic beam, and JE Dunn thanked all for progress to date on the $27.6-million project.

Topping out celebrations are customary in building projects, signaling that buildings under construction have reached their maximum height, with façade and interior work to proceed.

The new three-story structure will give the school greater street visibility and provide an enriched learning environment. It will replace a 44-year-old facility, which will be preserved for another use.

Features of the 104,000-square-foot replacement building, which will accommodate a full-time enrollment of 753, include a main entry/lobby space with a gallery, media center, cafeteria, gymnasium with stage, specialty classrooms, STEM and flight simulator labs, and outdoor lab/classroom space.

The project will also deliver new parking areas, play field, exterior lighting and signage, landscape and hardscape areas, covered walkways to the building entries, and improved bus and carpool circulation.

Collins Cooper Carusi is the project’s architect of record.

The new Tuskegee Airmen Global Academy will open for the 2019-2020 academic year.

 

Featured

  • Montclair State University Starts Construction on $120M STEM Building

    Montclair State University in Montclair, N.J., recently broke ground on a new $120-million Interdisciplinary Science Building, according to university news. The university partnered with HoK Architects for the project’s design, and it’s scheduled to open in time for the 2028–29 academic year.

  • Hawaii Elementary School Reopens Following $25M Campus Modernization

    Haʻaheo Elementary School in Hilo, Hawaii, has reopened to students following a three-year, $25-million campus modernization and expansion project that significantly increases the school's instructional space while preserving one of the island's oldest educational institutions, according to local news.

  • University of Pennsylvania Releases Design of Future Physical Sciences Building

    The University of Pennsylvania (Penn) in Philadelphia, Penn., recently released renderings of an upcoming 350,000-square-foot Physical Sciences Building, according to news release. The facility was designed by CO Architects and will unite the university’s departments of Physics and Astronomy, Mathematics, and Earth and Environmental Science.

  • Q&A: How to Prevent Kitchen Grease Fires in Commercial Kitchens

    School cafeterias and university dining halls serve thousands of meals daily, relying on high-heat equipment like fryers, grills, and ovens. While these operations keep students fed, they also generate significant grease-laden vapors. Without proper controls, this grease becomes a silent fire threat. As a certified exhaust cleaning specialist and business coach who has helped hundreds of institutional facilities achieve NFPA 96 compliance, I emphasize that proactive grease management isn’t optional; it’s a core fire/life safety practice.