Skip to main content
Add as a preferred source on Google

Barton Malow Builders Expand into K–12 Market

  • By Matt Jones
  • 06/14/21

Contracting firm Barton Malow Builders announced this week that it is partnering with Orange County Public Schools in Orlando, Fla., as the construction manager on a large-scale capital improvement project. According to a press release, the Low-Voltage Systems Capital Renewal project is valued at more than $20 million and aims to replace and update fire alarms, security camera sub-systems and intercoms at about 40 schools around the district.

“Barton Malow is excited to partner with OCPS, one of the largest school districts in the nation,” said Randy Zylstra, Director of Florida Operations for Barton Malow. The partnership will also involve VoltAir Consulting Engineers and Provisions Construction & Development, two minority partner firms, in an effort to foster relationships among local businesses.

Barton Malow ranked #13 in Building Design + Construction’s 2020 list of Top K–12 Contractors, as well as #10 in the Engineering News-Record’s 2020 list of Top Education Contractors. Construction on the Capital Renewal project is scheduled to begin this fall and to finish sometime during 2022. Officials also anticipate that the project will create a substantial number of new jobs in Central Florida.

About the Author

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

Featured

  • Wenger Names New Vice President of Sales for Performing Arts, Controls

    Wenger Corporation, which provides products and solutions for music and theater education, performing arts and athletic storage, recently announced the hiring of a new Vice President of Sales for Performing Arts and Controls.

  • 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.

  • Rethinking K-12 Schools as a Continuous Learning Experience

    Most students move through three or more separate facilities during their K-12 journey, yet the built environments they encounter at each stage have traditionally been designed in isolation, with little continuity in spatial language, learning philosophy, or physical resources. Each new school is a reset with different layouts, learning models, expectations, and ways of moving through a building. The next generation of school design is making the case that the first day of kindergarten and the last day of high school can and should feel connected through common support systems and infrastructure in the physical environment.

  • Barbara Vick Western Branch

    Barbara Vick Western Branch

    Established in 1999, the Education Design Showcase is a vehicle for showing off innovative — yet practical — solutions in planning, design, architecture, and construction. The Barbara Vick Western Branch has been recognized with an EDS 2026 Grand Prize award in the category of Renovation.