Stretching Taxpayer Dollars to Reimagine Helper Middle School

Overhead shot of the finished reimagined Helper Middle School

Hogan & Associates Construction was selected as the contractor for Carbon School District bond projects, including Helper Middle School. The district aimed to preserve the 80-year-old middle school to last several more decades.

The district tasked Hogan and Naylor Wentworth Lund (NWL) Architects with upgrading systems and seismically retrofitting the 80-year-old middle school. Although this approach would meet the district's goal, most of the changes wouldn't be visible to the community because of the project's scope. And the students wouldn't receive a new, technology-rich learning environment.

As pre-construction progressed, Hogan and NWL identified an opportunity. Instead of updating all of the old structure, the district could use the money to demolish a portion of the building, construct an addition, and update the remaining parts, resulting in a 21st-century learning environment, all within the original bond budget. The team presented this idea, and the school board agreed; we changed course and began construction of a new 35,000 SF addition for Helper's students.