Last week, Albert Einstein Academies opened the doors of their new charter middle school located at 458 26^th Street to the 475 students enrolled for the 2014/2015 school year. Hughes Marino’s Construction Management team was fortunate to have been able to assist in relocating the school from its former location in South Park where it shared a campus with Albert Einstein Elementary.

Our role in this project was multi-faceted, and posed some unique challenges. The building purchased by the school was formerly a medical facility, which had been vacant for several years. As such, our first order of business was assisting with a lengthy entitlement process in order to obtain the conditional use permit necessary to transform the facility into a middle school.

In addition, when we began this project in late 2013, the 38,000 square foot building that now houses the school was actually attached to another building. Our team was excited to assist in orchestrating the physical separation of the buildings, as it’s a fairly unusual opportunity.

Once separated, we assisted Albert Einstein Academies in completely renovating and remodeling the interior of the four-story building to include administrative offices, standard classrooms, specialty science and art classrooms, and the construction of a fitness room to supplement the outdoor sports courts. Because the new school is situated on a hilltop, we also added windows to enhance the incredible views of downtown, while maximizing natural light in the interior. A variable refrigerant flow HVAC system and other energy efficiency systems, coupled with the use of recyclable materials, will help Albert Einstein Middle School to earn a LEED Silver Certification.

The exterior desperately needed updating, which presented some additional challenges we were able to help address. Architectural screenings transformed the dated building into a far more modern facility. Outdoor sports courts on the campus were also striped to accommodate a number of sports including basketball and volleyball.

We’re very proud of the assistance we were able to provide the Albert Einstein Academies community in our role managing the construction of their new space. The teachers and administrators have all expressed great excitement over their new campus and facility, and that’s really why we do what we do. Being able to transform an old, vacant medical building into a brand new, functional, and energy efficient school, where hundreds of students can learn in a comfortable setting, is incredibly rewarding for the entire Hughes Marino team.