Hendersonville Middle School, located in Hendersonville, NC began site preparations for major renovations and new construction in early June.
According to Hendersonville Middle School Principal Dr. Chuck Pressley, overcrowding and the need to upgrade the main school building convinced the Henderson County School Board to remodel the main 20,000 sq. ft. (1,858 sq m) school building, along with adding an additional 80,000 sq. ft. (7,432 sq m) of new construction.
The new construction will include a cafeteria, gymnasium, administrative offices, media center and classrooms. Demolition of the old cafeteria and gymnasium, removal of 13 portable classrooms, along with extensive site preparation for new athletic fields and parking lots began immediately after school ended in 2002.
According to David Jones, senior director of personal services of Henderson County Schools, the decision to save the 50-year-old main building was made because it was deemed structurally sound and because of its historical value.
Frank Wilson, an eighth grade teacher at Hendersonville Middle School, noted that the building was constructed in 1951 and served the black populations of Henderson, Polk and Transylvania counties. “The school existed under the name of Ninth Avenue School, teaching students kindergarten through 12th grade until 1965, at which time it was integrated and became Hendersonville Middle School,” he said. He added, the total cost for the project is $10 million and is being funded by Henderson County. It is expected to be completed at the end of 2003. Middle school students will study at a recently vacated elementary school for the duration of the project.
The general contractor for the project is American South General Contractors, located in Sanford, NC. American South’s extensive portfolio includes schools, office buildings, hospitals and universities, and provides services in North Carolina, South Carolina and Virginia.
Project/Construction Manager of the Hendersonville Middle School project is Jim Young. Project superintendent is David Young.
According to Young, American South has 10 employees at the job site daily. Additionally, there are approximately 10-100 workers, associated with subcontractors, also on the job site. “Initials concerns involving the site preparation were that the new and repaved roads accessing both the middle school and an adjacent year-round elementary school be completed by July 8, when the year-round elementary school began its 2002 school year,” he said.
Another concern, he added, was that before the selective demolition of the main building, and complete demolition of the gymnasium, cafeteria and two neighboring homes could be done, removal and disposal of asbestos, mostly associated with floor tiles, had to be done. Both tasks were successfully accomplished and the project proceeded on schedule.
Demolition of the 11,960 sq. ft. (1,111 sq m) cafeteria, 9,896 sq. ft. (919 sq m) gymnasium, and two small neighboring houses adjacent to the school property, began in mid June. Perry Alexander Construction Company, of Asheville, NC, was subcontracted by Garland Brothers to demolish the buildings.
According to Tom Alexander, CEO of Perry Alexander Construction, Perry Alexander owns all its own equipment and had between eight and 10 employees on the job site each day. Perry Alexander used two, 40,000-lb. (18,144 kg) Komatsu 200 excavators for the demolition. A Komatsu D31 track loader, along with dump trucks capable of hauling 26,000 lb. (11,778 kg) of debris, also were used during the demolition.
Alexander noted, “Extensive labor was needed to sort debris into masonry, concrete, wood and metal. Wood debris was sent to a licensed land fill, metal debris was sent to a recycling center, and the masonry and concrete debris was used as beneficial fill at the Henderson County landfill.
“The demolition of the gymnasium was challenging because it was built on pile foundations, which are unusually large; These foundations are often used in areas of low soil stability,” Alexander said.
The other challenge to the job was demolishing the cafeteria, which was attached to the main building, and was not being destroyed. To accommodate the neighborhood during the demolition, said Alexander, the masonry and concrete of the buildings was wetted down, thus minimizing the dust during the demolition. Demolition and removal of debris was completed in three weeks.
Garland Brothers, located in Asheville, was subcontracted by American South to prepare the site for paving and construction. Garland Site Superintendent Henry Lee, said that the site was cut to subgrade for the building construction and paving and to finish the grade for the athletic fields.
Approximately 10,000 sq. yd. (8,361 sq m) of earth was moved on site and 9,000 sq. yd. (7,525 sq m) of earth was hauled in, said Lee. All equipment used for the site preparation was owned and operated by Garland Brothers. On site were two, John Deere 200 track hoes, a John Deere 700 dozer, and several tandem and quad-axle dump trucks. A John Deere 200 excavator was used to lay pipe, cutout the subgrade and put in the utilities. A Daewoo 290 track hoe, with a 3.5-cu.-yd. (2.7 cu m) bucket, was used to load trucks off site. A 6x6 Moxy truck, capable of hauling 30 cu. yd. (23 cu m) of dirt, was used to spread dirt around the construction site.
Garland also was responsible for installing the storm drain system into the detention system. According to Lee, Garland suggested the use of corrugated plastic piping (HDPE) by Hard Core. This suggestion saved the project $6,500.
APAC paving contractors, located in Asheville, was subcontracted by American South to pave the three new parking lots and roads leading up to both the middle and elementary school. APAC paving is owned by Ashland Oil, located in Lexington KY.
APAC Project Manager of the Hendersonville Middle School was Lew Phillips. Phillips noted that the paving was done in two phases. “The first phase was to pave the roads and parking lots associated with the adjacent elementary school by July 8. The second phase will complete the areas around the new middle school,” he said.
He added, 8 in. (20 cm) of gravel and 3 in. (7.6 cm) of asphalt was laid, along with 6,500 linear ft. (1,981 m) of curb and gutter. Approximately 6,500 tons (5,896 t) of stone and 2,500 tons (2,268 t) of asphalt were used. APAC owes all its own paving equipment.
According to Young, site preparations went as expected and were completed in early August. Construction began on August 8, 2002, with the anticipated completion date of November 2003.
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