Two projects from Tomball ISD's 2017 bond referendum are slated to wrap up in August, with additional facilities complete by summer 2021, according to a July 1 release from Lockwood, Andrews & Newnam Inc., the firm serving as program manager for TISD's bond referendum.
Voters approved the $275 million bond referendum in November 2017 to accommodate projected enrollment growth totaling 19,500 students enrolled by 2021, according to the release.
Grand Oaks Elementary School—the district's newest elementary, located at Cypress-Rosehill Road and Grand Parkway—is scheduled to open in August as part of the Elmer and Dorothy Beckendorf Educational Complex. Grand Oaks will accommodate 900 students in grades K-4 within its 112,000-square-foot space, according to the release.
Grand Lakes Junior High School and a district stadium and community center are also under construction at the complex and are expected to finish in 2021 after construction delays.
“We have faced various challenges from delays in land acquisition to changes in building code regulations after Hurricane Harvey to issues related to county building permits,” said JP Grom, vice president of Lockwood, Andrews & Newnam Inc., in the July 1 release. “Despite these challenges, we are on course to completing several major projects over the next 14 months. These facilities will serve Tomball ISD students for the next 50-75 years and provide them the environment and infrastructure needed to succeed in the 21st century.”
Once completed in July 2021, Grand Lakes will accommodate 1,500 students in grades 7-8 within its 228,000-square-foot space, according to release. The junior high school will feature its own football stadium for track and field events and a football and soccer practice field, according to the release.
The district stadium currently under construction is scheduled to be complete in May 2021, to seat 10,000 spectators and to offer 3,000 parking spaces. The stadium will also feature a 25,000-square-foot community center with a conference center, locker rooms and athletic training, kitchen and administration areas, according to the release. This is an increase from the 7,500 seats and 2,000 parking spaces at the district's existing stadium.
Beyond the educational complex, additional bond-funded projects are taking shape.
TISD officials said during a May 11 meeting a few projects were ahead of schedule because facilities were not being used for on-campus instruction at the end of the 2019-20 school year amid the coronavirus pandemic.
"As far as not having students at Tomball Memorial, we've actually been able to escalate in timing," Superintendent Martha Salazar-Zamora said during the May 11 meeting.
Salazar-Zamora said at the time that the Tomball Memorial High School expansion project was about a month ahead of schedule as a result.
"We didn't even plan on doing the beginning of the demolition until after school was out. They're already doing it," Chief Financial Officer Jim Ross said May 11.
He also said in May the Tomball Intermediate School entrance renovations were ahead of schedule.
The 155,000-square-foot high school expansion will increase capacity from 2,250 students to 3,000, according to the release, and will increase the numbers of classrooms, science labs, gyms and Center for Adaptive Technology in Education labs. The expansion will also provide more space for performing arts and dining areas as well as renovate about 54,000 square feet of athletic, performing arts and CATE instructional areas. The expansion is slated for completion in June 2021.
In addition to entry renovations at Tomball Intermediate School, additional bond projects include improving existing baseball and softball fields at the high schools, upgrading the district's technology infrastructure and purchasing new school buses.
Furthermore, a new agricultural science project center at Tomball High School will be completed in August, offering students an agricultural barn and an instructional nature center with two 900-square-foot classrooms.
On the Tomball Memorial High School campus, a 26,000-square-foot natatorium is also under construction. The project is slated for completion in December and will house a 25-yard stretch pool with an 8-lane competitive swimming area and a diving area as well as locker rooms, a training room, offices and equipment rooms, according to the release.
"As a fast-growth district, Tomball ISD has worked tirelessly to uphold a standard of excellence across all aspects of our district and in order to uphold that standard of excellence, we never settle for anything less than what our community stakeholders deserve," Salazar-Zamora said in the release. "With that, we are excited about the progress of our projects and for the opening of Grand Oaks Elementary and our agricultural science project center in August. It has been wonderful partnering with LAN during this time as our projects continue to run smoothly despite many unforeseen challenges we have faced along the way."
Here is a breakdown of each major bond project.
Grand Oaks Elementary School
- Cost: $24 million
- Completion: August
- Architect: PBK Architects
- Builder: Gilbane Building Company
Tomball High School agricultural science project center
- Cost: $4.97 million
- Completion: August
- Architect: VLK Architects
- Builder: Sterling Structures, Inc.
Tomball Memorial High School natatorium
- Cost: $10.56 million
- Completion: December
- Architect: Stantec Inc.
- Builder: Gamma Construction Company
District stadium and community center
- Cost: $37.29 million
- Completion: May 2021
- Architect: PBK Architects
- Builder: Gilbane Building Company
Tomball Memorial High School expansion
- Cost: $36.5 million
- Completion: June 2021
- Architect: Texas-IBI Group, Inc.
- Builder: ICI Construction, Inc.
Grand Lakes Junior High School
- Cost: $43.26 million
- Completion: July 2021
- Architect: PBK Architects
- Builder: Gilbane Building Company
