Skip to main content
Add as a preferred source on Google

Kraus-Anderson Completes Three Schools for Minnesota District

  • By Matt Jones
  • 10/11/22

Construction management firm Kraus-Anderson recently announced that it has finished construction on three projects for the White Bear Lake School District in White Bear Lake, Minn. According to a news release, the three schools are North Star Elementary, Birch Lake Elementary, and Lakeaires Elementary.

The projects are part of a long-range facilities plan including 16 projects in total. All are being funded by a $326-million school bond referendum—the largest in state history, according to the press release—that passed in 2019. The new schools were developed in response to enrollment growth and building maintenance issues, and the larger construction plan is scheduled to take place in phases through the 2024–25 academic year.

North Star Elementary covers 103,000 square feet and cost about $28.8 million. It will house 720 students in grades K–5, and amenities include classrooms and a learning commons area, a media center, gym, storm shelter area, kitchen and cafeteria, a conference room and administrative space. Outdoor areas include athletic fields and a bus loop.

North Star Elementary School
North Star Elementary School

The project at Birch Lake Elementary involved the renovation of about 5,200 square feet and cost $3.6 million. Additions include new classrooms and flex spaces, a media center, an asphalt playground, and a conference room and offices. School safety and security installations were updated, and other renovations were made to the family lounge, learning commons spaces, bathrooms and offices.

Finally, upgrades to Lakeaires Elementary covered 5,149 square feet and cost $1.9 million. New spaces include a media center, a walk-in freezer and dry storage room, administrative space for the kitchen staff, MEP upgrades and renovations to restrooms and the learning commons.

The three completed schools were all designed by Wold Architects and Engineers.

About the Author

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

Featured

  • CU-Lock Haven Receives $1.75M Gift for New Entrepreneurship, Media Center

    Commonwealth University-Lock Haven in Lock Haven, Penn., recently received a $1.75-million donation from entrepreneur and alumnus Nicholas Subich ’17, according to a university news release. The funds will go toward establishing the Nicholas Subich Center for Entrepreneurship and Media, a technology-driven hub for innovation and experiential learning.

  • Chicago District Completes Construction on New Elementary School

    North Chicago School District 187 in North Chicago, Ill., recently held a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the new Forrestal Elementary School, according to a news release. The new school marks a major investment in military-connected students and families at Naval Station Great Lakes.

  • Wold Architects & Engineers Acquires VPS Architecture

    Full-service planning, architecture, and engineering firm Wold Architects & Engineers recently announced that it has acquired VPS Architecture, according to a news release. The move will help strengthen Wold’s education and public-sector design expertise, industries in which both companies have strong pre-existing ties and relationships.

  • Harvard Announces Replacement Facility for Native American Program

    Harvard University in Cambridge, Mass., recently announced that construction will begin this spring on a new home for its Native American Program, according to university news. The 6,500-square-foot, all-electric building will stand three stories and serve as the central hub for the Harvard University Native American Program (HUNAP).