Tale of Two School Districts

Combs High and Centennial Elementary Get High Marks in East Valley

Gilbert’s $14 million Centennial Elementary School and Queen Creek’s $45 million Combs High School are welcoming students this fall.

By David M. Brown

The $45-million Combs High School in Queen Creek is the first for the J.O. Combs School District. Located within Pinal County, the 55-acre campus features six separate buildings totaling 237,000 sq ft. (Photo courtesy D.L. Withers Construction)

Just after completing Combs High School in San Tan Valley, Phoenix-based general contractor D.L. Withers Construction delivered Centennial Elementary School in Gilbert, which welcomed its first K-8 students Aug. 10. First day of school for the approximately 1,200 Combs students was Aug. 3.

The $45-million Combs project at 2505 E. Germann Road is the first high school for the J.O. Combs School District in Queen Creek. The 237,000-sq-ft campus on 55 acres has three two-story buildings and three one-story buildings and offers outstanding views of the Superstition Mountains.

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Begun November 2007 and completed on time, the buildings were designed by the Phoenix office of DLR Group. Combs’ athletic facilities include a 900-seat competition gym and fields.

Leading the construction team was Withers founder and president, Dan Withers, and Bryan Allinson, project manager.

Started in 2008 and also delivered on time, the $14-million Centennial Elementary School at 3507 S. Ranch House Parkway celebrates 100 years for the Higley Unified School District and is its eighth elementary school and the first with a two-story classroom building. The project was designed by Gilleland Brubaker Architects of Glendale, Ariz.

Spread across 23 acres in the Power Ranch community, the 110,000-sq-ft building includes a 48-classroom, two-story building with an elevator for disabled children with wheelchairs. There also is a single-story building with six kindergarten classrooms, performing arts area, cafeteria, administration offices, lobby, gym, locker rooms and teacher workshop areas. The school accommodates up to 1,200 pupils.

A courtyard between the buildings consists of artificial grass, reducing water usage. The athletic fields include softball, baseball, soccer, basketball and tetherball. To ease traffic flow, the D.L. Withers team constructed and lined separate pickup and dropoff zones for buses (along Fenceline Parkway) and parents (along Ranch House Parkway).

Both schools used similar materials and construction methods: masonry skin with a concrete-steel deck floor and steel-joist roof support; foam roofing and metal canopies; and carpeting and vinyl composition tile in the classrooms. In addition, both projects were funded with bonds and incorporate technologically advanced components such as smart boards and projectors in all classrooms, including kindergarten.

While not LEED certified—cost precludes this for many budget-conscious districts—the buildings incorporate green features such as an energy-efficient circulation system for air conditioning and heating, individually controlled roof cooling units and energy-saving lighting.

Occupying a 23-acre site in Gilbert, Centennial Elementary School includes a 48-classroom, two-story building and a single-story building with kindergarten classrooms, theater, cafeteria, offices and a gym. (Photo by Visions in Photography)

Project manager Marc A. Thompson says it took extra effort to work in the middle of a fully built residential development and maintain the company’s good-neighborpolicy. He says there was constrant communication with the Power Ranch Community Association.

The community requested that the campus be tied to the existing community center and lake, both within view of the new school. To ensure this, landscaping consultant Campbell Collaborative and subcontractor DTR Landscape Development, both of Phoenix, created a continuous outdoor canvas.

A D.L. Withers exclusive is the “Back to School Program” offered every year to clients with schools just opening. The company coordinated this at both schools during their August debuts.

The D.L. Withers team coordinates a safety plan for the first day of school for parent and bus dropoffs and helps teachers move into their classrooms and set them up, Thompson says.

“We do everything from carrying boxes and moving desks and chairs and also provide lunch for all the teachers,” he adds. “The purpose of the program is providing assistance and relieving stress off the district, principal, teachers, students and parents. We also help students find their classrooms.”

Key Players

Centennial High School
Owner: Higley Unified School District
Architect: Gilleland Brubaker Architects
General Contractor: D.L. Withers Construction
Consultants: Beauchamp Engineering, Wood Patel & Associates
Subcontractors: L.R. Cowan Concrete; Schuff Steel Management; Canyon State Masonry; Kuhl’s Electric

Combs High School
Owner: J.O. Combs School District
Architect: DLR Group
General Contractor: D.L. Withers Construction
Engineers: DLR Group; Hubbard Engineering

Useful Sources
www.gilbert.k12.az.us
www.jocombs.org

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