Cuyahoga Falls’ new 6-12 campus project has reached an exciting milestone in our construction! The district hosted an evening Groundbreaking Celebration at Laybourne Track and Field Complex on September 27, 2022. The event featured speakers from local and state governments, the Board of Education, and school district staff and students. In addition, students from the Black Tiger Marching Band, A Cappella Choir, M&M’s, Children’s Choir, and the ArtSparks TNT and XD Dancers provided special performances throughout the evening. The celebration concluded with a fireworks display sponsored by Hammond Construction and ThenDesign Architecture (TDA). Significant activity has already begun on the site with the demolition of Laybourne Field press box, concession stand and Newberry Elementary School.
The district and our construction manager, Hammond Construction, have developed a detailed site logistics plan for all phases of the building project. Hammond is committed to providing a safe and secure environment for students and staff throughout the building process. Hammond’s safety plan includes proactive measures to segregate construction activities from district operations with both fencing and signage. The purpose of an early site package is to prepare the building area for construction of the new school. This involves installing stormwater controls, including silt fence and catch basin protection to maintain drainage on site. Contractors removed select trees and graded the soil where the future campus footprint will be constructed. Heavy machinery is being used to strip the topsoil and grade the land. Some of the topsoil will be stockpiled on site for later use in the final grading, and the remainder will be permanently removed. Construction fencing is being installed around the perimeter of the work site for safety and security reasons. Newberry Elementary School has been abated and is in the process of being demolished. Many community members have expressed an interest in retaining souvenir bricks from the building. Hammond Construction has provided a pickup area next to construction trailer for community members to take a brick from the 1956 building. An early site package allows the project to get a “head-start” on the building construction. The site will be graded and ready to go so contractors can hit the ground running to begin building construction in early spring after the winter weather has passed.
TDA has completed the design development submission, which was presented to the Board of Education on October 5th for approval. For the remainder of the year, the design team will develop the construction documents (blueprints) – the final stage of the design process. During this time, the architect, construction manager, and consultants will work through the technical aspects of the project to develop detailed documents that will later be used for bidding by subcontractors in early 2023. Finally, the district will host a community-wide meeting in the High School auditorium at 6:30 P.M. on Wednesday, October 26th. TDA architects will unveil the final design and rendered images of the new 6-12 campus, sharing interior and exterior views of the building. This day also marks the 100th birthday of the original Cuyahoga Falls High School building. We will honor and recognize the district’s rich history of education over the last 100 years. Please join us for this special evening to celebrate Cuyahoga Falls’ past, present, and future for our students and community.