While we continue work on dozens of multi-family, industrial and commercial projects across the region St. Louis and Southern Illinois region right now, we're also working on several K-12 schools projects. With the initiation of the Dorris Elementary School project in Collinsville, IL, Holland Construction Services has officially logged 50 K-12 projects into our project portfolio. These 50 school projects add up to over $400MM in total renovation/construction costs and over 2.5 million square feet of space. We're certainly not stopping there either as we are currently managing an additional four K-12 construction projects and one higher education project in the Metro East.
Along with Dorris Elementary, our current Education construction projects include Caseyville Elementary, Sparta High School, and Redbud Elementary, as well as a project for Southwestern Illinois College in Belleville. The scope of each project varies, including features such as multi-purpose rooms, storm shelters, therapy rooms, upgraded building security and increased ADA accessibility.
Dr. Brad Skertich, Superintendent at Collinsville Community Unit School District 10, said their district chose to begin its $6 million renovation and expansion project at Dorris Elementary School with Holland this summer to accommodate the growing district. “This expansion will give our students the additional space they need to learn and grow in the classroom along with additional space for some of our students with higher needs,” said Skertich. “The district felt Holland would be the best fit for this project because of their previous work and reputation. We have been incredibly impressed with their open communication, keeping us aware of every step in the process and we’re very excited to get started.”
With 50 school projects in the portfolio over the course of Holland's 35-year history, our Project Executive Ryan Savage said communication is always key. “School projects are unique because in many cases, these schools need to still be fully operational while the work is being done so communication with school administrators is essential. We have to consider school hours, food deliveries, parent pickup, drop off, and most importantly how to ensure safety and minimize disruptions. With our, extensive experience in the K-12 market, we’ve developed an extensive and effective process to move these projects along efficiently and safely, while still delivering a high-quality construction project.”
Holland Project Manager Eric Paulek said it's never lost on their team that these projects make an impact on the community and school district as a whole, as well as each student. “At Sparta High School, for instance, kids sit outside on picnic benches where they can watch our work at a distance,” said Paulek. “It’s important to us that we’re not only delivering a quality project that the school can be proud of but we’re also always aware that we have the opportunity to inspire a kid to consider a career field they might not have thought of before.”
We appreciate the hard work each of our Holland Team members, subcontractors and school administration partners have contributed to these 50 projects over the past 35 years and look forward to the next 50!
