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

  • Baton Rouge Center for Visual and Performing Arts

    Baton Rouge Center for Visual and Performing Arts

    Established in 1999, the Education Design Showcase is a vehicle for showing off innovative — yet practical — solutions in planning, design, architecture, and construction. The Baton Rouge Center for Visual and Performing Arts has been recognized with an EDS 2026 Project of Distinction award in the category of New Construction.

  • Photo courtesy of Kraus-Anderson

    Minnesota District Completes $49.7M Addition, Renovation Project

    St. Paul Public Schools in St. Paul, Minn., recently announced the completion of a $49.7-million addition and remodeling project at two district schools, according to a news release.

  • Florida District Completes Construction on New Leadership Institute

    Pinellas County Schools near Tampa, Fla., recently announced that construction is complete on the new Dr. Michael A. Grego Leadership Institute, according to a news release. The district partnered with Rowe Architects for the project’s design and with Skanska for construction services.

  • How a Portable Sink Helped an Art Classroom Run More Smoothly

    Classroom design decisions can have outsized effects on instructional time and safety at schools juggling mismatched infrastructure, strict budgets, and crowded schedules — particularly in the arts. Between spilled paint and dirty brushes, art classes run smoother with a sink in the studio. But many schools don’t have a sink in every art classroom.