SAN DIEGO, CA – Carlsbad High School students returned from their holiday break last week to find 11 brand new education buildings and a central plaza awaiting them.
Located at 3557 Lancer Way in Carlsbad, Calif., the $47 million classroom complex was constructed by McCarthy Building Companies, Inc., one of the nation’s leading education facility builders, on behalf of the Carlsbad Unified School District.
The education-building complex represents the third phase of an overall $87 million renovation and modernization of Carlsbad High School, home of the Lancers, that McCarthy began in June 2008.
The project is being funded by Proposition P, a $198 million bond measure passed by voters in 2006. Carlsbad High School, which was originally built in 1957 and now boasts an enrollment of 3,000 students, is one of eight schools within the Carlsbad Unified School District being constructed or modernized with funding from Prop P.
The one- and two-story education facilities comprise a total of 99,000 square feet of space and provide new classroom, performing arts, vocational education lab and food service space. The buildings surround the newly created Lancer Plaza, which resembles a college campus quad and serves as a central gathering and event area for students.
A grand opening celebration and official ribbon-cutting ceremony was held last week to commemorate the completion of the education-building phase. More than 200 government officials, school district dignitaries, and other stakeholders attended the event and expressed praise for those involved in the planning, construction and oversight.
“There are so many individuals who have helped guide this project on the right path, and helped realize our dream of being one of the most modern and desirable school campuses in the country,” said Maggie Stanchi, (lower right photo)director of instruction for the Carlsbad Unified School District and former principal of Carlsbad High School.
“We’re especially grateful to the members of McCarthy’s project team for their diligence and high degree of professionalism throughout the course of this project.”
Built on the site of the school's former parking lot on the east side of Carlsbad High School, the 11 new steel-framed stucco buildings were designed to harmonize with the surrounding structures, while giving the campus a more contemporary appeal.
The buildings feature curtain walls on one side, and cantilevered walls with metal sunscreens on the opposite sides to help reduce energy use. Masonry was incorporated in some areas, including the plaza ticket booth.
"We were in close communication with the District the entire duration in an effort to reduce potential traffic flow issues and minimize disruptions to campus operations while school was in session," said McCarthy Project Director Craig Swenson.
“At many points, it required our having to reassess the schedule, then rearrange subcontractor schedules to accommodate activity on and around the campus.”
Design consultants involved in the Carlsbad High School renovation project include Perkins+Will, architect; John A. Martin & Associates, structural engineer; Leighton Engineering, geotechnical engineer; Cornerstone Engineering, Inc., civil engineer; Johnson Consulting Engineers, Inc., electrical engineer; Donn C. Gilmore & Associates, mechanical engineer; and Lightfoot Planning Group as the landscape architect. The Planning Center provided the Environmental Impact Report.
Gafcon is the program manager. Erik Reuter has been serving as director of school construction on behalf of the CUSD.
Contact:
Bonnie Kutch
Director
619-299-1010
Kutch & Company
3904 Groton Street | Suite 203 |
San Diego, California 92110
When Lord Buddha summoned all animals to bid him farewell before he departed the Earth, only twelve animals came. As a reward, he named a year after each one and proclaimed that people born in each animals' year would possess some of that animals personality.
Dragon people are imaginative, always able to see new paths and will take a radical approach. 
