| Poquoson, Va. (March 27, 2019) — The Poquoson City School Board has selected Waller, Todd & Sadler, a Woolpert Company, to provide architecture and engineering services for its Poquoson Middle School Modernization Project. The firm will meet with the project’s design committee, members of the Poquoson City Public Schools staff and members of the community to gather information and determine educational design requirements for the modernization.
Woolpert Project Manager Maureen McElfresh said the firm is familiar with the 92,000-square-foot Poquoson Middle School site. In 2013, Waller, Todd & Sadler Architects and a team of consulting engineers completed a Facility Assessment Study for the school, which was built in 11 construction phases from 1931 to 1994. The study evaluated the existing physical conditions of the site and offered multiple, tiered renovation options.
“That study was to help the school division determine how they were going to best spend their money, laid out in four renovation options, considering immediate need, meeting standards and how to best support students moving forward,” McElfresh said. “Then the school division worked with the Poquoson City Council on the financial end and determined that a thorough modernization would be the most economically viable option.”
The firm will work within the city’s budget to perform design upgrades to the existing facility, utilizing input gained through the programming and public input process. McElfresh said the project will address portions of the building that are more prone to flooding and possibly include building a new auditorium. The school has a student enrollment of approximately 550, which is projected to increase over the next 10 years to approximately 675 students based on a demographic study compiled by the Weldon Cooper Center for Public Service at the University of Virginia.
“The division wants to ensure the money has the most impact on the overall facility, and will best benefit the kids and the region,” McElfresh said. “Even though this is an 87-year-old building, it can adapt to provide everything students and faculty need to excel in the 21st century.”
Poquoson City Public Schools will provide updates throughout the project and solicit input on its website at poquoson.k12.va.us and on Twitter at @PMSModProject. The modernization is scheduled to complete its design phase in February 2020, begin construction in May 2020 and be ready to open in September 2022.
About Waller, Todd & Sadler, a Woolpert Company
Waller, Todd & Sadler, a Woolpert Company, offers architecture, planning, interior design and LEED services to both public and private sector clients. It is a testimony to the firm’s professional abilities and commitment to customer service that approximately 90 percent of Waller, Todd & Sadler’s work is with clients from whom they have been awarded additional contracts. Woolpert is the fastest growing architecture, engineering and geospatial (AEG) firm in the country and is ranked 95th among ENR’s Top 500 Design Firms and 18th on the Zweig Hot Firms List. For over 100 years and with 28 offices across the U.S., the firm serves federal, state and local governments; private and public companies and universities; energy and transportation departments; and the U.S. Armed Forces. For more information, visit woolpert.com or call 937-531-1258. |