SAN ANTONIO — Construction has commenced on Texas’ first Educare school. Located on the Texas A&M San Antonio Campus, the project marks a massive stride for childcare accessibility, education and early childhood development studies in the area.ĚýĚý

The $22 million, 26,000-square-foot building will be devoted to teaching and caring for children aged six months to five years. Educare, a nationwide provider of early childhood education, aims to provide quality early childhood education that doubles as accessible childcare for families representing a range of economic backgrounds. The school will also serve as a hands-on teaching resource for Texas A&M San Antonio students who are studying child development and business.ĚýĚý

“Educare will be the gold standard for childcare and childhood education,” said Salvador Hector Ochoa, Texas A&M San Antonio president, in a statement. “The one-of-a-kind facility also represents our commitment to enhancing the region’s birth-to-college educational ecosystem, as it enables students and community members to access childcare and higher education while working full-time, strengthening the University and the city’s workforce.”ĚýĚý

The facility, which broke ground last month for a slated spring 2026 opening, is an initiative led by the Texas A&M College of Education & Human Development, with operation led by the university’s early childhood experts. College students will use the environment as a teaching model to study early childhood learning and understand best practices. On the administration side, business students will gain experience working through tasks such as state licensing regulations and balancing budgets.Ěý

A home away from home for 200 students—including infants, toddlers and students in preschool and kindergarten—the facility offers flexible classrooms for teaching, outdoor space for activities and areas dedicated to strengthening family-school resources.Ěý

A mix of grass, astroturf and resilient pavement surfaces with walking paths will be integrated into the playground, which features climbing structures and slides that were designed with accessibility in mind. A small stage for plays and small-group activities is one of numerous activity areas included in the plans. These spaces for engagement aim to inspire artistic creation where children can use commonplace objects to engage in self-expression and dramatic play. For increased safety, both play areas and classrooms are shielded from outsider view.Ěý

Designed by Austin, Texas-based Plufger Architects, the exterior of the facility aims to blend in with the surrounding Texas A&M Campus, reflecting San Antonio’s historic architecture, which uses brick and San Saba sandstone, a natural stone derived from quarries in San Saba, Texas. Building accents such as archways, canopies and a covered communal plaza will feed directly into play areas, seamlessly blending work and play .Ěý

“We wanted the building’s form, materials and layout to honor the local context while providing a supportive environment for Educare’s innovative educational mission,” said Chris Lammers, AIA, higher education practice director at Pfluger Architects, in a statement.ĚýĚý

Funding for the first-of-its-kind facility is delivered through various sources including $4.4 million from philanthropy, $9.6 million from the city of San Antonio and $7.9 million from Texas A&M. The facility’s construction plans were first approved in November 2024 as part of the Texas A&M Regents sweeping approval of over $500 million in campus construction and improvement plans.Ěý

The post New Educare School in San Antonio to Alleviate Area’s Childcare Desert Struggle appeared first on ĐÓ°ÉÔ­°ćŇ•îl.

The post New Educare School in San Antonio to Alleviate Area’s Childcare Desert Struggle appeared first on ĐÓ°ÉÔ­°ćŇ•îl.

SAN ANTONIO— The ground has been broken on the new South Education Center, an early learning facility that will aid early-childhood learning on San Antonio’s underutilized south side. RDG Planning & Design is acting as associate architect on the project in partnership with Pfluger Architects for the client, Pre-K 4 SA. GW Mitchell of San Antonio is serving as the project’s general contractor and working with HOLT Group on the construction.

When completed, the 53,000-square-foot South Education Center will offer classrooms for infants and toddlers that emphasize interactive and play-based activity. The design is meant to utilize renewable energy, meaning that with less waste, the students will be able to learn in a healthier, more sustainable environment. The early education center, to be located at 3510 S WW White Road, will also serve as a childcare center.

“This project is not just a model for designing schools with the unique needs of children ages birth to four in mind; it’s a powerful example of the role business leaders can play in ensuring every child has access to high-quality early education,” Dr. Sarah Baray, Pre-K 4 SA CEO, said at the groundbreaking. “Acting as a dynamic catalyst, our partnership with HOLT Group and our contractors symbolizes a new path to achieving high-quality early learning rooted in the vibrant community we call home. It is a true accomplishment in San Antonio, at this site, in this location.”

“RDG is thrilled to contribute to a project that addresses a critical need for quality early childhood education and reflects our commitment to creating meaningful and sustainable environments,” RDG architect and partner Ed Buglewicz said of the project. “This center will serve to enrich the community and support the educational landscape in San Antonio, making accessible education opportunities available to more children.”

In a subsequent statement emailed to ĐÓ°ÉÔ­°ćŇ•îl, Buglewicz said that their firm’s work largely entails the interior architecture and design for the South Education Center. For this the designer is leveraging its 25 years of experience assisting communities in creating supportive educational environments in which childhood programs can thrive.

“A variety of spaces are included that provide services primarily for the care and learning for the young children, but also spaces that provide support and resources for the teachers/providers and for the parents/families,” Buglewicz said, explaining further that the school will feature some unique design components. “This location will also contain the new corporate offices for PreK4SA in the city and will also be a community hub that provides a variety of training and professional development in three large meeting rooms.

“This created a challenge to be solved by the site design and the building layout, specifically how to navigate circulation and access of two different user groups, including [focusing] on the care and safety of small children. The design successfully keeps the two groups separated and secured through two separate entries on opposite sides of the building.”

The South Education Center is due to open in the summer of 2025. RDG operates from offices in Iowa, Missouri, Colorado and Nebraska.

The post Early Education Center on Tap for San Antonio’s South Side appeared first on ĐÓ°ÉÔ­°ćŇ•îl.

The post Early Education Center on Tap for San Antonio’s South Side appeared first on ĐÓ°ÉÔ­°ćŇ•îl.

ELGIN, Texas—Designer Pfluger Architects and general contractor Satterfield & Pontikes Construction joined officials from the Elgin Independent School District recently as they collectively toasted the groundbreaking of the new Harvest Ridge Elementary, the fourth elementary school for the Elgin ISD. Harvest Ridge Elementary will serve students from pre-K through 5th grade. Funding for the project comes from the district’s $183 million bond program, passed by voters in November 2021.

“This is such an exciting moment for the Elgin community,” Elgin ISD Superintendent of Schools Dr. Jana Rueter said at the groundbreaking. “Harvest Ridge Elementary will provide a safe and nurturing environment for students to learn and grow, fostering a sense of community and collaboration. Future staff and students will benefit from the school’s overall design, which reflects Elgin ISD’s commitment to providing high-quality education for its students.”

Harvest Ridge, which will be home to 800 students, will be sited on a 13-acre plot of land the district owns in the immediate vicinity of Elgin High School. The design for the school incorporates innovative designs meant to increase learning capabilities at Harvest Ridge, and inside the classrooms will boast up-to-the-minute technology. Additionally, the elementary school will offer a music room, gym, art room, library, cafeteria and outdoor learning spaces.

Pfluger and Satterfield & Pontikes are working in conjunction with Lockwood, Andrews and Newnam, Inc. (LAN), which is acting as program manager for the district’s bond program and thus will oversee budgeting and execution of the construction and renovation work throughout the district. In addition to Harvest Ridge, LAN will be shepherding to completion an additional elementary school, upgrading Elgin High School, and making various other improvements throughout the Elgin ISD.

One of the challenges of this particular project, according to Tim Strucely, LAN Associate and Program Manager for Elgin ISD’s bond program, is that the district will be constructing the school as part of a new subdivision.

“The developer is extending the main boulevard out to and beyond the school construction site, as well as constructing all of the utility infrastructure,” Strucely said in a statement emailed to ĐÓ°ÉÔ­°ćŇ•îl, offering that the project “is happening in parallel with the construction of the school site. The developer built a temporary construction road to allow us to physically access the school site.”

Strucely added that he and his firm are dedicated to providing a first-class school for the Elgin ISD that will meet the community’s needs.

As currently projected, the new elementary school will open for students in the fall of 2024 for the Elgin ISD, which educates over 5,000 students in grades K through 12.

“We are excited to celebrate this investment in our community, and our children, and to see this new facility come to life,” enthused Rueter, the superintendent.

LAN, which employs nearly 400 professionals around the country, falls under the umbrella of the LEO A DALY companies, an internationally recognized engineering and architecture firm.

The post New Texas Grade School Breaks Ground in Elgin appeared first on ĐÓ°ÉÔ­°ćŇ•îl.

The post New Texas Grade School Breaks Ground in Elgin appeared first on ĐÓ°ÉÔ­°ćŇ•îl.

BULVERDE, Tex.—International builder Skanska—which is based in Stockholm, Sweden, but operates several offices in the United States—has been hired by the Comal Independent School District to construct a $57 million new school in the far northern suburbs of San Antonio.

The contract with Comal Independent School entails an entirely from-scratch middle school.Ěý The facility will offer a sports field, water retention and storage tank, as well as various support structures across the project site’s 40 acres of property.

The heart of the project will be the 170,000-square-foot Comal Middle School #8.Ěý When completed, likely in the fall of 2023, Middle School #8 will be able to host over 1,000 students.Ěý This expansion work is necessary to relieve overcrowding at other schools throughout the district.

Pfluger Architects is also on board as the architect and engineer for Comal Middle School #8.

Personnel from Skanska’s San Antonio office are now hard at work on the construction project.Ěý The firm also works from other Lone Star State offices in Houston and Dallas.

The post Skanska Tapped to Construct New Middle School in The Heart of Texas appeared first on ĐÓ°ÉÔ­°ćŇ•îl.

The post Skanska Tapped to Construct New Middle School in The Heart of Texas appeared first on ĐÓ°ÉÔ­°ćŇ•îl.

SAN ANTONIO—Adolfson & Peterson Construction (AP), a national construction management firm and general contractor, and Northside Independent School District (ISD), Texas’ fourth-largest school district, topped out the new Marshall Law and Medical Services Magnet High School in San Antonio. The magnet program is located on the campus of Northside ISD’s oldest high school, Marshall High School, which is also undergoing significant renovations.

Representatives from AP, Northside ISD and Pfluger Architects Inc., the planning architect on the project, were in attendance as AP secured the top beam of the new home to the district’s academies of medical services, law and criminal justice, and legal government and administration.

“We’re excited to reach this milestone on our first project in San Antonio,” said Brandon Gaeke, regional manager for AP. “Construction has gone smoothly, and we’re slated to complete the project on time. We couldn’t be happier that our initial foray into this market is a project that will help young San Antonians become esteemed members of the community.”

Northside ISD awarded AP the project in June 2020, and completion is estimated for November 2021. The $22.1 million project includes the construction of the 80,000 square-foot magnet high school, new soccer and football fields, and a parking lot. AP is also renovating Marshall High School’s career and technology building and administration area.

“The project underway at Marshall High School and Marshall Law and Medical Services Magnet High School is a sign of our district’s commitment to ensuring a first-rate education for our students in state-of-the-art facilities,” said Dr. Brian Woods, superintendent for Northside ISD. “We are grateful to the voters of Northside who have made this work possible through their support of School Bond 2018.”

AP has served as construction manager or general contractor on several school district projects in Texas for Arlington ISD, Fort Worth ISD and Garland High School in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. Other notable projects in Texas include the new PGA Headquarters in Frisco, Texas, and Park Cities Presbyterian Church in Dallas.

Adolfson & Peterson Construction (AP) is a family-owned company that offers preconstruction and construction services to the commercial, education, healthcare, hospitality, industrial, multifamily, municipal, recreation and senior living market segments.

Northside ISD covers 355 square miles of urban landscape, suburban communities and rural Texas hill country. The district is comprised of 120 public schools (including seven specialized high school magnet programs and two middle school magnet programs) with over 14,000 employees.

Founded in Austin, Texas in 1973, Pfluger Architects plans and designs educational facilities, and has completed more than 450 projects totaling more than $1 billion in the last five years alone.

The post New San Antonio High School Celebrates Construction Milestone appeared first on ĐÓ°ÉÔ­°ćŇ•îl.

The post New San Antonio High School Celebrates Construction Milestone appeared first on ĐÓ°ÉÔ­°ćŇ•îl.