Minnesota High School Completes $226M Addition, Renovation Project

White Bear Lake Area High School – North Campus in White Bear Lake, Minn., recently announced the completion of a $226-million renovation and addition project, according to a news release. The district partnered with Kraus-Anderson for the project’s construction, which involved creating a single high-school site for the White Bear Lake Area School District. Construction started in June 2021.

The school measures in at 595,000 square feet, including a 250,000-square-foot addition featuring new classrooms, a performing arts center, and an athletic facility. The project also entailed 216,000 square feet of renovations to existing academic space and the media center, as well as security upgrades and expansions to the existing student union and gym, the news release reports.

Funding for the project came through a 2019, $326-million school bond referendum including 16 total projects around the district. According to the news release, completed projects include the new Mariner Middle School, North Star Elementary, Area Learning Center, District Services Center, Central Middle School, and a Transportation Facility.

The project’s ultimate goal is to address building maintenance and district enrollment growth, the news release reports.

About the Author

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

Featured

  • UCNJ Launches $30M Modernization of Physical Education Center

    The Union College of Union County (UCNJ) in Cranford, N.J., recently broke ground on a new $30-million modernization project for its Physical Education Center (PECK), according to a news release. The college partnered with DIGroup Architecture for the project’s design, transitioning the existing 42,000-square-foot structure into a campus hub for student athletics and campus life.

  • 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.

  • Three U.S. Universities Install Acre Security Access Control Platform

    Cloud-native physical and digital security solutions company Acre Security recently announced that it has deployed its access control platform at three major universities in the U.S., according to a news release. Acre partnered with Atrium Campus to provide coverage for more than 69,000 students at the University of Virginia (UVA), George Mason University, and Rockhurst University.

  • concentric silhouettes of a human head

    How Physical Space Shapes the Mind: Designing for Better Learning Outcomes

    Research in environmental psychology and neuroscience increasingly suggests that the way a room is designed can influence memory, focus, or even a student's sense of belonging.

Digital Edition