Construction is set to begin on a 23,000-square-foot physical education building at El Cajon Valley High School in the Grossmont Union High School District. The $6.1 million dollar project is scheduled to be completed in early 2014.
Designed by Vista-based Sprotte+Watson Architecture & Planning, the new two-story structure will replace two original buildings deemed seismically obsolete on the 58-year-old East County campus. The first floor of Building 900 includes a gymnasium space to accommodate wrestling, gymnastics, and aerobic dance programs as well as team rooms, locker rooms, training rooms, offices for coaches, and storage areas. The second level mezzanine features a physical education classroom and weight training area that overlooks the main activity space. New restrooms and shower facilities in the building will be able to be shared by users of the adjacent campus pool facility.
Sprotte+Watson designed Building 900 as a low-maintenance, high-performance concrete masonry and steel building. Multiple clerestories allow natural light to stream throughout the building, creating healthier learning environments with lower operational costs. Building 900 is part of the second phase of improvements planned for El Cajon Valley High School. In recent years, Sprotte+Watson has designed the high school’s metal works facility and special education suites, and provided the blueprint for the modernization of Building 700’s 19,150 square-foot Art and Media Complex as well as Building 400, a 15,200-square-foot facility that includes the campus’ commercial Wigwam restaurant.
“We are very pleased to have another opportunity to assist the Grossmont Union High School District in the continued redevelopment of El Cajon Valley High School,” said Patricia Sprotte, principal-in-charge of the project.
Funding for the improvements at El Cajon Valley High School, the third oldest campus in the Grossmont Union High School District, comes in part from Proposition U, a school bond measure passed by East County voters in 2008.
Karyn Malmgren of Sprotte+Watson Architecture and Planning is the project architect for Building 900. Scott Wilkins of the Grossmont Union High School District is the project manager. Escondido-based Erikson-Hall Construction is the general contractor. The engineering team includes Wiseman+Rohy Structural Engineers, electrical engineers Turpin & Rattan Engineering, Inc., Merrick and Associates Mechanical Consulting and Engineering, and civil engineer Cherry Engineering, all of San Diego County. The landscape architect is George Mercer Associates of La Mesa.
