Building for Education Institutions in Boulder and Longmont

June to August is the working window for most school and campus buildings, and the rest of the year is spent getting ready for it. Contracts are awarded in winter, submittals and long-lead orders go out in spring, and the building has to be handed back with working systems before the first bell or the first week of fall classes. A schedule that slips in July is a schedule that costs the owner a semester, so we plan education projects as a countdown to a date that cannot move.

We build for school districts, charter operators, private schools and universities across the Boulder Valley. Their projects range from a classroom wing at a single school to a research building on a campus where the architecture is itself a matter of record. Each owner has different procurement rules and different committees, and we learn them before we propose a delivery method.

Building to the academic calendar

We write education schedules backward from the date classrooms or labs must be occupied. Roofing and exterior work are timed to the dry months, interior finish to the stretch when building envelope is complete, and furniture and equipment delivery to the final weeks. Long-lead items, such as rooftop units, switchgear, elevators, science casework and gymnasium flooring, are released as soon as design allows, because they are the usual cause of a missed August date.

When a project must be built in phases around an operating school, we separate the work into summer scopes and in-session scopes. Noisy and disruptive tasks such as demolition, core drilling and utility cutovers are saved for the breaks, while quiet work continues in controlled zones. A district facilities director gets a calendar that shows each summer's deliverables, and we meet before every break to confirm the next window.

What we build for districts and campuses

For school districts we handle additions, replacement buildings, security vestibules, gymnasiums, cafeterias, career and technical spaces and mechanical replacements. St. Vrain Valley Schools, listed as Longmont's largest employer at 3,543 people in the city's 2020 financial report, shows the scale that a district can reach, and it explains why the work in these buildings is rarely a single project; it is a stream of them, each with its own funding and calendar.

For universities and colleges we handle laboratory build-outs, classroom renovations, residence halls and research facilities. The University of Colorado Boulder spreads across a 786 acre main campus, with East Campus about a quarter mile away and Williams Village about 1.5 miles from the main campus, so logistics for deliveries, crane picks and construction parking are a real part of every scope. Our education facility construction team writes a site logistics plan for each building.

Procurement routes and how we fit each

Public school districts often buy construction through a competitive process under bond oversight, while private schools and universities may negotiate or use their own procurement rules. We are comfortable with lump-sum bids, construction manager at risk and design-build, and we advise owners on which fits their project and board. A bond program with fixed dollars and a hard open date often benefits from early contractor input on cost and phasing.

We provide the documents a facilities committee needs: clear unit pricing, alternates that can be accepted or rejected, a transparent contingency and a record of each decision. If your project includes housing, our work on student housing construction uses the same reporting. If your campus has a clinic or a medical program, we also work with healthcare systems on teaching and outpatient space, and the same crews can switch between the two.

Site teams you can introduce to a principal

Schools and campuses are places where children and students are present, so we limit the number of unfamiliar workers on site. We coordinate and supervise the concrete, framing, carpentry and general conditions trade partners on many projects, and we ask them to keep a stable crew for the project's duration. Background checks, badging and an orientation on site rules are required of everyone, and we can adjust to a district's own policies on fingerprinting and visitor management.

Principals and department chairs get a weekly look-ahead and a single phone number, and we try to fix small items in a day rather than log them for the punch list.

Keeping students, staff and crews separate

Fencing, separate entrances, covered walkways and a no-contact rule for deliveries during pickup and drop-off are standard on our education sites. On a university campus, we coordinate with campus police and transportation staff so that cranes, trucks and detours do not trap pedestrians or emergency vehicles. We hold a daily meeting with the school's facilities lead during critical work.

Fire and life safety systems get particular attention. Alarm and sprinkler shutdowns are scheduled only when no one occupies the area, with fire watch and written approvals, and temporary egress is signed and checked each morning. Water is another concern. The September 2013 floods took Boulder Creek flow above 5,000 cubic feet per second against a normal range of about 150 to 200, and buildings along the creek, including Boulder High School, were seriously damaged, which is why we keep drainage, flood mitigation and mechanical room elevations on our checklist for every school site. Our stormwater and drainage work looks at that early.

The spaces that make up a campus

Historic buildings need careful handling. Campus architecture at the university follows architect Charles Klauder's Tuscan Vernacular Revival style, with sandstone from Front Range quarries, limestone trim and red-orange tile roofs, used on fifteen buildings from 1921 to 1939. A renovation behind those walls usually keeps the stone and rebuilds the interior, so we plan for shoring, careful masonry repair and mechanical routing through old structure. A new building that sits beside them has to match scale and material, which affects the budget and the supplier list.

Research space is different again. The Engineering Center is described in one public source as housing the nation's largest geotechnical centrifuge, which, if accurate, illustrates the heavy foundations, vibration control and crane access that research halls can need. Our school building experience covers classrooms, labs and gymnasiums, and our CU Boulder campus area page describes the setting we work in.

Why education budgets are tight and how we protect them

Education budgets are fixed by a bond, a grant or a legislative appropriation, and every change order becomes a question for a board. So we price in a way that makes later surprises less likely. Unit costs are tied to quantities the owner can verify, allowances are set only for items that cannot be defined yet, and alternates give a board something to trade if bids come in high.

Research buildings and labs bring cost in mechanical and electrical systems, and our colleagues in manufacturing and process projects offer a useful comparison for exhaust, clean utilities and process piping. We share cost data with the owner's design team through each phase, and flag value engineering ideas that save money without changing how the building teaches.

Plan the next summer window

Tell us the building, the funding source and the date classes begin. We will work back from it and show you what has to happen by when.

Questions Owners Ask

Can a school building be completed during a single summer break?

Small and medium projects such as classroom renovations, mechanical replacements and security upgrades often can, if equipment is ordered early. Additions and new buildings usually take more than one summer, and the work is organized so the occupied areas stay open. We confirm the feasibility with a detailed schedule before the board sets a date.

Which delivery method works best for a bond program?

It depends on the district's procurement rules and the amount of design that is done. Competitive lump-sum bidding gives price certainty on a complete design. Construction manager at risk gives early input on phasing and cost, and design-build suits projects with a fixed budget and a short timeline. We explain the tradeoffs to the board and administration.

How do you handle construction near a creek or floodplain on a school site?

We check the floodplain map and local permit requirements before design is final. In Boulder, any building with part of its structure in the 100-year floodplain needs a Floodplain Development Permit, including footings and overhangs. We design drainage, finished floor elevation and utilities with that in mind.

What is your approach to historic campus buildings?

We survey the existing structure and finishes, protect what is to remain and bring in masons and finish trades with experience in stone and plaster. Mechanical and electrical routing is planned with the design team to avoid damage to historic features. We keep careful records so the owner has a full account of what was changed.

How do you coordinate with university facilities and police?

We hold a pre-construction meeting with facilities, parking, police and transportation to set delivery routes, crane times and pedestrian detours. A weekly look-ahead goes to all of them, and we keep one point of contact for emergencies. We adjust crane and delivery times around exams and events.

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More Industries We Serve

Browse the rest of our industries we serve pages for Boulder and nearby Colorado communities, or contact us to talk through your project.