Groundbreaking for new 6-12 campus set for Sept. 27; community invited

Submitted by Cuyahoga Falls City Schools
·3 min read
This conceptual rendering shows a potential vision for the entrance to the new grades 6-12 building from 13th Street in Cuyahoga Falls. The new middle and high school structure is expected to be 365,000 square feet. More detailed designs are being worked on for the project.
This conceptual rendering shows a potential vision for the entrance to the new grades 6-12 building from 13th Street in Cuyahoga Falls. The new middle and high school structure is expected to be 365,000 square feet. More detailed designs are being worked on for the project.

Community members, local leaders, school officials, and students will join together to celebrate the groundbreaking of the new 6-12 campus on Tuesday, Sept. 27, at 7 p.m. at Laybourne Field, located at 2630 13th St. in Cuyahoga Falls.

Festivities will begin at 6:30 p.m. Free hot dogs, chips, water and Hollywood Squares will be available, as well as a historical keepsake and face painting. The groundbreaking ceremony will feature student performances by the Cuyahoga Falls High School marching band, A Cappella Choir, M & Ms, Children’s Choir, and the ArtSparks TNT and XD teams. A special fireworks display, sponsored by Then Design Architects and Hammond Construction, will close out the groundbreaking ceremony.

A shuttle bus will run from the Cuyahoga Falls High School parking lot to Laybourne Field from 6:30 to 7 p.m. and after the fireworks.

TDA and Hammond Construction have partnered with Cuyahoga Falls City Schools for the design and construction of this project. The groundbreaking ceremony will be rescheduled for Oct. 6 if inclement weather interferes with the fireworks display.

The groundbreaking ceremony comes after voters approved the bond issue in November 2019. This summer, the team passed a crucial milestone in the design process for the new 6-12 campus. A complete set of submitted architectural drawings marked the end of "design development" for the new school. This milestone is the culmination of hundreds of hours of work from architects, construction professionals, district staff, the Ohio Facilities ConstructionCommission (OFCC), and over a dozen consultant groups.

"We completed about 60% of the architectural drawing set and are more than halfway there,” commented project manager Scott Alleman. "The floor plans are solidifying, the engineering and building systems are being inserted, and the school’s exterior is being defined. That is a huge achievement with a project of this size."

August was a busy month as the design team enters the next phase of this project. School district officials, TDA, and Hammond Construction representatives held a neighborhood meeting with residents in early August to discuss issues related to changes at Newberry Park, stormwater retention basins, and traffic patterns with the new campus. In addition, during weekly design meetings, survey results about the classroom and cafeteria furniture options werepresented to the design team.

With the design development phase complete this summer, TDA and Hammond Construction will provide separate detailed estimates to determine the cost of the new school campus. Then, the two teams will meet to reconcile their estimates to agree on the projected construction cost.

TDA has moved into the 100% Construction Document phase, which is the final design phase. This phase will conclude with Hammond Construction soliciting competitive bids and providing a guaranteed maximum price for the work indicated. This is scheduled to take place in early 2023. The architectural team then has until the end of 2022 to finalize the building design, adjust budget considerations, and include feedback from stakeholders.

Cuyahoga Falls Planning Commission approved of the plans presented during their meeting on Aug. 9. City Council gave its approval of the plans on Sept. 6. Beginning in September, community members will notice construction activity on the campus site; Laybourne Track and Field was closed to the public on Sept. 1. The demolition of Newberry Elementary School will also begin in September.

Board of education president Anthony Gomez states, “We are encouraged by the positive momentum building in the community as our plan reaches its final phase-construction! We look forward to sharing details in a large-scale community engagement meeting this fall.”

For updates regarding the new campus, visit www.cfalls.org.

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Community invited to groundbreaking for new 6-12 campus on Sept. 27