Morgan Hill school district leaders are about four months removed from the postponement of a Dec. 8, 2017 groundbreaking ceremony for the much anticipated Britton Middle School Transformation Project.
The nearly $50 million undertaking has been “delayed by permitting, which is not unusual,” according to Casino Fajardo, Morgan Hill Unified School District’s Director of Construction.
“As with any large-scale construction project, there are unforeseeable setbacks that take place from time to time,” Fajardo said. “Although we could have continued forward with the groundbreaking in December, we knew it would be a month or two before we would actually begin earthwork. Rather than disrupt campus with fencing, we opted to keep the campus open and free of construction set up.”
The district submitted MHUSD’s permit with the State Office of Public School Construction back in October 2017, “but the project is still within plan review,” Fajardo said. “The district now anticipates the permit approval process to be cleared and dirt being moved “within the next two weeks.”
Even if that is the case, district officials are reluctant to confirm a completion date for the Britton project, which was initially expected to be ready for use before next school year.
“Our original timetable was to have the classroom building operational by the start of school 2018—which seemed feasible with a December permit approval—but this delay in plan review has pushed back the schedule,” Fajardo said. “In light of our current setbacks, we are hesitant to put a new timeline together until we have all required permits in hand.”
Once the permits are secured, it will take about eight to 10 months to build the classroom structures “barring anything unforeseen” such as inclement weather and material shortages, Fajardo added.
“The Design-Build Entity is utilizing a Division of State Architect ‘pre-checked’ building design for the classrooms in order to expedite permit approval,” Fajardo explained. “However, this review process is lengthy and comprehensive.”
At Britton, the project will result in over 80,000 square feet of new learning space. The new campus will include one primary quad and a number of auxiliary quads that can be used for outdoor learning spaces. A new student union building, which includes a scratch cooking kitchen for healthier options for student nutrition and learning opportunities, is also in the works. Additionally, a new parking lot and drop off/pick up area will replace the existing lot, helping to ease congestion before and after school.
In October 2017, the district sold $80 million worth of Measure G bonds with a majority of the proceeds going toward building a new Britton campus. Approved by voters in 2012, the $198 million Measure G is transforming MHUSD campuses by funding essential infrastructure upgrades, repairs and renovations to existing buildings and new construction, according to district staff.
In June 2017, MHUSD’s Board of Trustees approved the $39.5 million design-build contract with Blach Construction Company and Quattrocchi Kwok Architects.
“It is still our plan to complete classroom buildings first with the student support spaces to follow,” Fajardo said. “We are focused on getting Britton students and teachers into new classrooms as quickly as possible. Our goal is to have student support spaces completed shortly after the classroom building.”
The first phase includes two structures—a two-story classroom building and a one-story science structure with attached outdoor science collaboration spaces that run along the Monterey Road side of the expansive campus. The classrooms will take up what is now a baseball field and lunch-commons area for students.
The second phase includes the construction of a custom administration building that will face Keystone rather than West Central Avenue, and a student union with library and kitchen that will occupy the corner of Monterey and Keystone in place of the existing decrepit tennis courts.
The final phase involves the demolition of the existing classroom buildings and old administration near West Central Avenue followed by a new parking lot once the new admin building and kitchen are completed.
Britton was originally built in 1940 as a high school campus and was converted for middle school use in 1975. It sits on a 22-acre site on the northern edge of downtown Morgan Hill along Monterey Road and Hale Avenue, between Central Avenue and Keystone Road. It currently has 28 regular classrooms with 69,000 square feet of buildings. The last modernization work was done in 1993. The school currently serves approximately 900 students.
While the design-build contract is $39.5 million, the other $10 million in expenses includes a gamut of costs from furnishing the classrooms, administration office and student union to paying for DSA permits, inspections and water and sewer connection fees.
