Farmington Public Schools has been a client since 1988 when McCarthy & Smith was hired to manage additions and renovations to all twenty-six school facilities. Projects have included a new elementary school, district-wide improvements to athletic complexes, remodeling of all school buildings – over $300M.   Recently, our team assisted with 2013 Bond Facilities Study and Assessment, which lead to successful 2015 Bond Program.  Current projects include remodeling of middle school to a K-8 STEAM school, renovation of two high school auditoriums, remodeling of media centers/libraries for group study spaces, interior upgrades, multiple additions, athletic improvements and district-wide safe entrances at all school buildings.

Involvement with Berkley School District began in October 2014, working with project team to assist in facility assessments, needs analysis, scope definition and budget development for a May 2015 bond election. The Berkley community passed their $58.9M bond by a 2 to 1 margin.  Construction projects encompass additions and remodeling at nine District buildings – four elementary schools, two middle schools, one high school and two auxiliary buildings.   With a high volume of construction happening in the metro-Detroit area, it has been imperative to keep on schedule with the bidding of projects in a favorable time of year to ensure competitive bids from qualified contractors.  With only 11 weeks of construction during the summer recess, work plans were developed to start construction where possible before the summer recess.  These plans ensure safe separation of the construction area and second shift work, without interruption to educational programs and building activities.

Liberty Middle School is a new 140,000sf building constructed in the growing Canton area to replace the aging Central Middle School. The school was featured in CAM 2016 Special Projects Issue Magazine in October 2016. The new building is a two-story, modern facility situated on 23 acres. The project involved over 40 major contractors, and highlights of the completed school include modern classrooms, media center, and secure lobby areas. Construction for the project began in May 2014 and spanned 485 calendar days and 378 working days during an extremely cold winter. On opening day, September 4, 2015, the new school housed 850 students in grades 6-8. The building value is $20 million with a site value of $2.5 million.

A new 4-story, 40,000sf Science and Engineering Center for the University of Detroit Jesuit High School was constructed between the school’s main building and Jesuit Residence on a compact site in Detroit. The modern STEM Center doubles the classroom and laboratory space for biology, chemistry, and physics, and adds laboratory space for eco-car, robotics, and engineering activities. Comprehensive pre-construction activities included estimating and value engineering to optimize solutions to meet budget, schedule, scope, and safety constraints. The new addition connects two 1930 vintage buildings, bounded by the bus loop to the north. The STEM center opened in August 2016, and the project value is $16 million.  The project received the 2016 AGC Build Michigan Award.

The new 41,000sf Early Childhood Center for Novi Community Schools provides modern learning spaces for pre-K students and opened its doors in Fall 2016. The new facility includes learning technology tools and integrated classroom systems designed for early childhood learning. The exterior of the building uses residential construction with cold-formed metal studs, exterior sheathing and a combination of brick veneer and hardie board siding. Interior walls were designed and constructed to eliminate sound transmission from room to room.  The roof structure is an engineered truss system designed and fabricated using cold-form metal trusses.  Building security includes parent key fobs coded to specific door entrance located closest to their child’s classroom.   The new building has a project value of $7.5 million.