New facility nearly finished, ready for first day of school

The new Somers Middle School is roughly 95% complete and on target to open for the first day of school on Sept. 8.

The $15.8 million project includes a new two-story school and renovation of a 1993 wing that will be connected by a covered walkway. Older wings built in the 1950s and 1960s have been demolished.

The new 62,532-square-foot school features 16 classrooms and a science lab, shop, art room, music room, life skills room, makers space, stage, gym and fitness room. L’Heureux, Page and Werner Architecture designed the building and Swank Enterprises served as the general contractor and construction manager.

“So far we are really, really doing good. The work is on schedule and the last heard from Swank, we’re $300,000 under budget,” Somers-Lakeside School District Superintendent Joe Price said.

That will bode well for renovating the 1993 wing or purchasing wish list items such as a greenhouse or climbing wall for the gym. Price said the extent of the remodel depends on where the budget lies after new construction is finished. The 8,657-square-foot wing is on track to be remodeled into storage and classrooms. Construction on this part of the project is expected to continue when school starts.

The project was built to accommodate about 270 students. Somers Middle School will now house fifth grade in addition to sixth, seventh and eighth grade. Fifth grade is moving over from Lakeside Elementary to free up space.

“We have a couple of classrooms down there to spare now,” Price said at Lakeside.

“Right now, we have a huge second grade. We have about 80 kids in second grade this year,” he said, when that grade usually ranges from 50 to 60 students.

The building project came into being due to a backlog of deferred maintenance and problematic infrastructure, namely electrical and plumbing. Cracking tiles containing asbestos were also an issue in the old building.

Other highlights of the new building are the gym, fitness room, science lab, shop and art room.

“Let’s start with the most dramatic,” Price said during a tour on Aug. 11.

Walking into the new building, crews are still working while staff members come in and out. Chairs are stacked in the open commons area waiting to be arranged. Price opened the door to the gym, gesturing to the hardwood floor in a moment of recalling the carpeted gym floor of the old building, which posed a tripping hazard.

“That old gym was just inadequate in almost every way,” he said.

A curtain can be dropped to divide the new gym if two games, practices or P.E. classes are going on at once. Nearby, a fitness room features weight machines, five upright bikes and two ellipticals. When asked if the gym and fitness room will be open to community use, Price said it is yet to be decided on what that might entail. He said it is unlikely it will be open for community use during the COVID-19 pandemic.

As with other schools constructed in districts around the valley in recent years, flexibility also played a key role in designing Somers Middle School from movable walls to furniture on wheels. This flexibility allows teachers to come up with different classroom configurations or add space, which might play an important role in physical distancing when opening during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The library, shop and science lab, for instance, have interior garage-door style walls that open — the library out to the commons, the science lab to an adjacent classroom, and the shop to the outside. Several classrooms have counter tops and stools as an option for students to sit or stand beside desks.

The shop is another major improvement. In the old building, the size of the shop, which was located in the basement, put limitations on how many students could take the popular elective.

“It’s hugely popular,” Price said. “We’ve always had more kids wanting to take it then we have room. The old classroom could maybe fit eight to 10 kids — now, 15 to 20, maybe. There’s enough space for people here. We just decide on how many the teacher can safely supervise.”

The science lab and adjacent classroom also offer significantly more room to spread out in the new building.

There are also safety improvements such as the addition of a fume hood and a prominently placed safety shower.

Building security also played a large role in design. With a more open and centralized design staff can supervise larger spaces than before. There are also cameras throughout the building. A secure entrance requires visitors to enter a vestibule and check in with the office before entering the building.

“We did have the buzzer system before, but once you opened the door you were in the building,” Price said, where someone could potentially gain access without checking in at the main office.

The new kitchen is also a major improvement with more room and a serving area where students will file through to get their food and then eat in the commons.

Being so close to finishing construction has been a relief, given the project’s narrow voter approval of the 20-year-bond issue in 2017.

The original project scope did not include a new building. Originally, the plans were to build a two-story addition into a hillside and renovate the single-story 1993 wing. In 2018, however, the project was stopped before crews broke ground when a soil report showed the structure could be compromised in the event of a major earthquake due to the presence of wet, loose, sandy soil susceptible to soil liquefaction. Soil liquefaction is when soil behaves like a liquid. Soil liquefaction causes settling, and, in the case of the original construction plans and site placement, the potential for differential settling.

After architects and engineers went back to the drawing board, the re-designed middle school was relocated east of the existing building and construction started in mid-April 2018. Soil conditions were improved beneath the new building by installing 627 “vibro” stone columns 3 feet in diameter and 40 feet into the ground to provide all-around stability. Despite a delay, the project remained on schedule to be finished by fall 2020.

Opening during the COVID-19 pandemic means a grand opening for the public will be put on hold. Price said the district may put together a virtual tour in the meantime.

Reporter Hilary Matheson may be reached at 758-4431 or hmatheson@dailyinterlake.com.