Restoration of Bay Area High School Kicks Off

By Ariela Moraru

The California education real estate market is due for a boom in the coming years because of the recently passed California Proposition 51 measure combined with nearly $15 billion in local bonds. Proposition 51, passed in November of last year, provides eligible schools with $9 billion for improvements including modernization and construction of new school facilities. The Historic Alameda High School will utilize a portion of its local $179.5 million Measure I facilities bond and is applying for Proposition 51 match funding. Alameda Unified School District has commenced construction on the restoration of the 1924 neoclassical building in Alameda, Calif., in the San Francisco Bay Area. The project is slated for completion in December 2019.

The seismic retrofitting and restoration were designed by Quattrocchi Kwok Architects, which also revamped the similarly styled 1920s neoclassical Napa High School in Napa, Calif. Lathrop Construction is the project contractor. The 100,000-square-foot registered historical landmark has been empty since 2013, when the district office moved out after seismic experts deemed it unsafe. Upgrades will be conducted on the landscaping, outdoor learning space, the structural, mechanical, and electrical systems, as well as the building’s interior and exterior, while preserving the look of the main lobby. 45 classrooms and 10 new science labs will be modernized and upgraded with new teaching technology.

“As a significant community historic resource, this restoration has been an incredibly rewarding project where we’ve had the opportunity to preserve this piece of history while implementing a redesign of its classroom spaces for today’s learning and teaching environments,” said Mark Quattrocchi, principal at QKA, in prepared remarks. “We are thrilled for AUSD and this monumental occasion to officially begin construction after it being underutilized for nearly 50 years.”

Images courtesy of QKA