C.W. Driver Companies, a premier builder celebrating its centennial this year, broke ground on Granada Hills Charter’s new $34 million facility. The new space will allow the school to expand its curriculum to offer transitional kindergarten (TK) through eighth grade programs and will enable the school to increase its capacity to more than 6,000 students. Recognized as one of the largest charter schools in the U.S., construction of the new facility is expected to complete in August 2021.
The project includes the demolition of pre-existing buildings, installation of interim portable classrooms and construction of the more than 90,000-square-foot TK-8 campus. The new structure will include a three-story, 48-classroom building; full-service kitchen and eating area; multi-purpose room; lighted sports field; locker rooms; basketball courts and an administrative office as well as additional parking and pick up/drop off areas.
“This expansion is a major accomplishment that is many years in the making for Granada Hills Charter,” said John Kately, project executive at C.W. Driver Companies. “We are confident that our extensive experience in building K-8 facilities will allow us to deliver a high-quality educational environment that is tailored to Granada Hills Charter’s diverse educational, athletic and extracurricular offerings.”
First year enrollment will begin in fall 2019 with 384 spots available for transitional kindergarten, kindergarten, as well as first and sixth grades. Over the next five years the remaining grades’ programs will open, with a total TK-8 capacity of 1,425 students. Interested students are admitted via a lottery and will transition into Granada Hills Charter’s ninth through 12th grade program upon completion of eighth grade.
“As one of the largest charter schools in the nation, we look forward to further expanding the number of students we can serve with these new learning facilities,” said Brian Bauer, executive director at Granada Hills Charter. “This milestone enables us to broaden the reach of our comprehensive academic, arts, athletics and social programming with a level of continuity that will foster a seamless and enhanced student experience.”
Granada Hills High School first opened in 1960 and was converted into an independent charter school in 2003. The new facilities will be located on the school’s Devonshire site, which Granada Hills Charter purchased in 2014 and currently houses the iGranada Digital Arts and Sciences program. Part of the iGranada program will remain at the Devonshire location for the immediate future.
C.W. Driver is working alongside WLC Architects, Inc. on the project. In addition to Granada Hills Charter School, C.W. Driver’s robust portfolio of K-12 work includes projects for Grossmont UHSD’s El Capitan High School Events Center, San Dieguito UHSD’s Pacific Trails Middle School, Newport Beach’s Sage Hill School, Chino Valley USD’s multiple project modernizations, Brentwood School Saltair West Annex and Parking Garage and 30 projects for Irvine Unified School District. In total, C.W. Driver’s K-12 work spans more than 130 projects in the past 100 years.
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