Early in the current decade, violence within the community of Northeast Central Durham, N.C., escalated to the point where school safety officers at Holton Junior High School feared for their own safety. The school eventually closed and the property sat vacant for five years, during which time vandals and drive-by shooters destroyed most of the windows, and the 60,000-sf building became a haven for drug users and the homeless. The less said about the rodent and bird infestations, the better.
After neighbors demanded that Durham Public Schools take proper responsibility for its property, the district partnered with the city, the county, and Duke Healthcare to rework the former school into a multiuse community center. Rehabbed for a scant $16.68 million by the Building Team of Davis Kane Architects, Skanska (CM at risk), Heery International (program manager), En-Tech (MEP engineer), and Stroud, Pence and Associates (structural engineer), the facility reopened in July. Holton offers the community sorely needed services, including career and technical education classes, a recreation and wellness center, an auditorium, childcare and after-school programs, and a health clinic operated by Duke Healthcare.
Also helping to revitalize the community was Skanska’s decision to hire and train small-firm subcontractors, several of whom live in the neighborhood. The Building Team also achieved 46.5% minority participation on the project.
“We have a lot of empty buildings like this in our communities, said Reconstruction Awards judge Darlene Ebel, Director of Facility Information Management at the University of Illinois at Chicago. “They had a small budget and they did a lot of good with the money.” BD+C
PROJECT SUMMARY
Building Team
Submitting firm: Heery International (program manager)
Owner/developer: Durham Public Schools
Architect: Davis Kane Architects
CM at risk: Skanska USA Building Inc.
MEP engineer: En-tech Engineering
Structural engineer: Stroud, Pence and Associates Ltd.
General Information
Size: 60,000 gsf
Construction cost: $16.68 million
Construction time: August 2009 to July 2010
Delivery method: CM at risk
Related Stories
| Sep 30, 2011
Kilbourn joins Perkins Eastman
Kilbourn joins with more than 28 years of design and planning experience for communities, buildings, and interiors in hospitality, retail/mixed-use, corporate office, and healthcare.
| Sep 30, 2011
Design your own floor program
Program allows users to choose from a variety of flooring and line accent colors to create unique floor designs to complement any athletic facility.
| Sep 30, 2011
AAMA offers electronic technical documents with launch of virtual library
This new program offers a system for members to purchase annual licenses in order to offer electronic versions of AAMA publications in an effort to make AAMA’s technical information resources more readily available to their employees.
| Sep 29, 2011
Submit your Great Solutions
Profiles of Great Solutions will appear in December 2011 issue of Building Design+Construction.
| Sep 29, 2011
Busch Engineering, Science and Technology Residence Hall opens to Rutgers students
With a total development cost of $57 million, B.E.S.T. is the first on-campus residence hall constructed by Rutgers since 1994.
| Sep 29, 2011
CEU series examines environmental footprint and performance properties of wood, concrete, and steel
Each course qualifies for one AIA/CES HSW/SD Learning Unit or One GBCI CE Hour.
| Sep 29, 2011
Kohler supports 2011 Solar Decathlon competition teams
Modular Architecture > In a quest to create the ultimate ‘green’ house, 20 collegiate teams compete in Washington D.C. Mall.
| Sep 29, 2011
AIA Dallas names new executive director
AIA Dallas one of only a few chapters in the U.S. to be led by an accomplished architect.
| Sep 29, 2011
Potter honored with SMSP honor
The Society for Marketing Professional Services (SMPS) recognized Alfred K. Potter II, FSMPS, senior vice president with Gilbane Building Co., with the 2011 Weld Coxe Marketing Achievement Award (MAA).