By Eric Althoff
PALMETTO, Fla.鈥擨nternational construction and development first Skanska has completed its expansion work at Buffalo Creek Middle School, which was celebrated with a ribbon-cutting ceremony attended by staff, students and members of the Manatee County School Board.
The construction and renovation work entailed a new two-story media and instruction building comprising TV production studios, eight classrooms and a media center. Skanska was also charged with converting the former media center into new classroom spaces for instruction in such fields as robotics, business and engineering.
Skanska worked in collaboration with Zyscovich Architects on the $12 million workload needed at Buffalo Creek Middle School. Some of the funding came from a half-cent sales tax approved by Manatee County voters in 2016 to address multiple improvements, including to the district鈥檚 educational infrastructure.
鈥淭he impact of this new building will benefit students at Buffalo Creek Middle School for the next generation and beyond,鈥� Principal Bradley Scarbrough said at the ribbon-cutting ceremony. 鈥淲e are in an area experiencing exceptional growth, and these expanded facilities will help us meet the needs of today鈥檚 students, as well as tomorrow鈥檚.鈥�
鈥淭he modern design and construction of the new media center is the result of a true partnership between our team, the school district of Manatee County and the architect,鈥� Daniel Abou-Jaoude, vice president of Skanska USA Building, said at the ceremony. 鈥淭his expansion of the campus will provide students and staff with an innovative space that fosters hands-on learning and encourages creativity and exploration for years to come.鈥�
In a subsequent statement to 杏吧原版視頻, Keith Hendry, senior project manager at Skanska USA, said that the true measure of the benefit of an educational project such as Buffalo Creek is how it ultimately works for the end user.
鈥淥ur team, together with the project architect, worked closely with the faculty and staff at Buffalo Creek Middle School and the School District of Manatee County to truly understand the needs of the students and teachers, taking the time to do a 鈥榩age flip鈥� with all stakeholders to ensure the end product was something that everyone could use,鈥� Hendry said. 鈥淭o best understand how to implement the new technology across the campus additions, Skanska finalized the construction of one classroom and invited all stakeholders to test out the room.
鈥淭his way, our team identified potential kinks and adapted the layout as necessary before implementing it across all classrooms. This allowed us to ensure the project remained within the outlined budget and timeline and deliver a product with high usability.鈥�
鈥淲e are excited and happy for the students, staff and families at Buffalo Creek Middle,鈥� said Superintendent Jason Wysong. 鈥淔irst-class facilities and tremendous teachers are a powerful combination, and we鈥檙e glad to bring the two together to benefit Buffalo Creek.鈥�
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