“From an owner/operator perspective, Gafcon helped steer the project through the inevitable unforeseen delays, unexpected challenges, and myriad contractor and supplier adjustments that projects of this size and scope are sure to involve. Their understanding of the financial aspects of a project of this (or any) size, and the administrative details involving state and local agencies, inspection stakeholders, and regulatory groups was an incredible ‘value-added’ benefit.”
Tom Nizetich
Director of Facilities
The Accelerated School
In 2011, The Accelerated Schools selected Gafcon, Inc. to provide owner representative and construction management services to build a new 100,000 SF Accelerated Charter Elementary School (ACES). The ACES project represents an innovative and sustainable approach to school design and construction on a small urban site. Building on the success of The Accelerated School’s (TAS) original campus, ACES was designed from the ground up as a “green” school with optimal operational energy efficiency and a robust technology infrastructure. Scheduled for LEED Silver certification, the newly constructed campus is a healthy, environmentally friendly facility with a much lower cost to operate over its lifetime when compared to the typical public school.
Gafcon, Inc. provided design team coordination of conceptual planning and programming, schematic plan review, budget oversight, value engineering, contractor outreach and selection, and overall construction management. The new school buildings include 21 connecting classrooms, a library, a multipurpose room, a cafeteria with a large lunch shelter space, administrative support spaces, and 210 parking spaces in a 59,000 SF subterranean structure. This campus represents a unique public/private partnership between The Accelerated Schools, Los Angeles Unified School District, and private/corporate foundations.
