This 6,500 square foot addition adds four classrooms to the existing elementary school. The addition was designed using the forms and materials found in the existing building so the addition matches the original building. The project also included adding skylights to existing classrooms to provide natural light to interior spaces. The existing hot water heating system was extended to heat the new classroom spaces.

Mississippi Heights began life as a middle school.  It was originally designed by GLTArchitects in 1993 to meet very specific curricular requirements for the Sauk Rapids-Rice School District.  The District wanted to achieve efficiencies in the facility but they also wanted to create smaller communities of learners.  Rather than one large school of 900 students, the plan included three “houses” of 300 students each.  Each “house” has its own classrooms and science labs.  The art and media centers, gymnasium, and dining spaces are shared by all “houses.”  The gymnasium was designed with 1000 spectator seats to help relieve pressure on the existing high school gymnasium.

As a part of the Long-Range Facilities Plan created for the District in 2000, GLTArchitects was retained to facilitate converting the middle school to accommodate a K-5 program.  New rooms with toilets were added for kindergarten, the bathrooms and the serving lines were modified for elementary school use, and the science labs were converted to wet labs for elementary projects. The woodshop classroom became the art room with more storage and more space than the original art room.  The band room became a performance room for small plays; and because of its carpeted risers, it also works well for reading to groups.  An additional computer lab was created for the students on the second floor, and an outdoor playground was also added to the school.

This 38,000 s.f. former elementary school was renovated to house early childhood classroom spaces and relocated district offices. Additional multi-purpose spaces include meeting rooms as well as the original gym with the restored original maple floor.

The exterior of the building received all new windows with both clear and spandrel glass to maintain the original look with increased energy efficiency. The entire building was also reroofed with increased insulation.

GLTArchitects has been engaged in helping Cathedral High School / John XXIII Middle School plan for the future since 1993.  In 1993 master planning was done at the current campus to determine the best use of current facilities and to identify areas of potential expansion to accommodate future growth.  Specific sites were identified for future building locations, parking areas and outdoor athletic facilities.  The existing buildings were also evaluated for current use and to compare available space to current education facility standards.  This plan was updated in 2000.  

In 2005, GLTArchitects was engaged by Cathedral High School/John XXIII Middle School to facilitate a community-wide committee to prepare a mid-term Community Vision for Cathedral High School.  A vision statement, several guiding themes, and identification of Cathedral’s core values were developed by the group.

Using this information as our guide, GLTArchitects prepared a study of the existing school and provided design options and cost estimates to incorporate upgrades that not only updated the school, but also brought the school more in line with its future vision and core values.

First and foremost, this plan identified the need to create a larger, more visible and dedicated chapel to reflect the role of faith to the Cathedral Community.  Additionally, the science labs, technology, and the media center will be expanded and improved to reflect the values that Cathedral placed on their learning environment.  Food service, code, and accessibility issues were also addressed to improve the overall environment of the school.

The first phase of the plan was implemented in 2007 and consisted of upgrades to the food service area.  The second phase, completed in 2008, included the incorporation of a fire suppression system throughout the building and a new elevator addition.

In 2009, GLTArchitects was hired to develop a schematic design for a larger, more visible chapel as identified in the master plan.

GLTArchitects was engaged to help create a long-term plan for expansion of St. Augustine church and St. Katharine Drexel School.  Because the issues of the expansion were interrelated to those of St. Augustine’s neighbors, the master planning process for the church and school involved the city and the neighbors in the creation of a long-term Planned Unit Development (PUD) that will guide the long-term growth of this area.

The school addition that resulted from the master plan includes Pre-Kindergarten through 6th Grade and is located on the East Side of St. Cloud.  The project added 11,700 s.f., and remodeled, in some fashion, all 18,000 s.f. of existing space in the school and now has the capacity for 200 students. The addition added music space, a media center with computer lab, storage, and offices; all functions that had taken over classroom space since the last addition to the school in the late 1960’s. The existing school was remodeled to address life safety and code concerns, to add fire protection and improve ventilation throughout, and to aesthetically update the school so it was complementary to the new spaces added.

The original 1928 high school for Sauk Rapids, this 45,000 s.f. facility was converted from a grade 4-5 school to a suitable site for Early Childhood & Adult Basic Education programs. A code review and an ADA (accessibility) study we had previously completed were referenced for this project as we added improvements such as fire protection (sprinklers) and an accessible lift to bring this project into compliance.  Ventilation was also addressed throughout the facility.

Our initial project at Rice Elementary School consisted of two phases.  Phase I of this project involved the addition of eight classrooms.  Phase II included reorganizing the site to create a safer student drop-off area, adding a new entry, administrative offices, food service, and art and music facilities.  A large part of the work conducted at this facility was to upgrade mechanical and electrical systems.  Major repairs, which resulted from deferred expenditures, were also undertaken and included the repair of some roof areas.

Phase III of the project addressed additional deferred maintenance issues and upgrades to the mechanical and electrical systems.  Brick veneer was also added during this phase to a portion of a previous addition to the school.

Phase IV included air conditioning throughout the building, new ceilings were installed in several classrooms, and lighting in the building was improved.