Architect chosen for Muldown rebuild
Whitefish School District selected L’Heureux Page Werner as the architect and Dow’s Custom Construction as the owner’s representative of it’s $26.5 million elementary school project to build a new school to replace Muldown Elementary.
The construction project will also entail demolishing portions of Muldown while retaining a couple of wings and the gym for later repurposing.
L’Heureux Page Werner, based in Great Falls, will provide architectural, engineering and design services for the elementary construction project. The architecture firm has previously worked for the school district when it was hired in April 2016 to provide master planning services.
L’Heureux Page Werner is also in the midst of working on several school projects in the valley including the new Rankin Elementary, which is currently under construction, and the renovation of Flathead High School and the H.E. Robinson Vocational Agricultural Center in Kalispell. Last November, the firm was also selected as the architect for the Somers Middle School renovation and expansion project.
The district also considered CTA, CWG Architects and Dowling Studio Architects, which responded to a request for qualifications.
Whitefish-based Dow’s Custom Construction has also previously worked for the school district as an owner’s representative and project manager for the Whitefish High School project that was completed in 2014. As owner’s representative, Dow’s Custom Construction will represent the school district’s best interests when decisions are made and serve as a liaison between the district and project team in addition to establishing and overseeing schedules, among other responsibilities.
The district also reviewed responses to a request for qualifications for the position from Axiom Builders Group and Williams Consulting.
The new elementary school will be located south of Whitefish High School and is anticipated to be approximately 84,000 square feet and accommodate 756 students. The decision to build a new school was to address aging infrastructure, security and capacity issues. Muldown is the largest kindergarten through fourth-grade elementary in Montana with current enrollment at 710 students.
The district is currently seeking responses to a request for qualifications for a general contractor/construction manager. Responses are due by 2 p.m. on Feb. 2 and may be delivered to Danelle Reisch, Whitefish School District business director, Whitefish School District, 600 E. Second St. Whitefish, MT 59937 and by email to reischd@whitefishschools.org. More information is available at https://www.wsd44.org.
Reporter Hilary Matheson may be reached at 758-4431 or hmatheson@dailyinterlake.com.