PHOENIX, AZ  McCarthy Building Companies and Madison School District #38 are celebrating the start of construction of the new $16 million, 72,000-square-foot Madison Simis Elementary School and administrative building in north central Phoenix, Arizona. Elected officials including Councilman Sal DiCiccio, Representative Dr. Eric Meyer, Representative Ken Clark and Representative Kate Brophy McGee join school officials, teachers, parents, students and the construction team on for the ceremonial groundbreaking of the project, which was approved by voters in the 2014 bond election.

The construction project, which is scheduled to complete July 2016, involves the demolition of all existing structures, with the exception of the cafeteria, and the replacement of the school buildings. The new buildings will provide approximately 40 new classrooms, including art, preschool and flex space.  In addition, the project includes construction of a new library and media center; learning gardens and outdoor teaching space; a gathering-area courtyard; a new ball field; and a new administrative building with front office, nurse's office, conference rooms and administrative offices.

"The new buildings are so beautiful, and it has been a thrill for students and staff to be able to observe construction progress daily. We notice progress daily and have enjoyed working with the McCarthy construction team and the Orcutt Winslow architectural firm.  We are so fortunate to have the best of both worlds an established, strong, supportive community and a lovely new school," said Madison Simis Principal Joyce Flowers.

The new campus design includes extensive natural light in all classrooms. Efficiencies are also being incorporated into the new buildings with the goal of lowering water and energy usage, including all LED lighting, high-efficiency HVAC system and low-flowbathrooms. All classrooms will be audio-enhanced and feature multi-user interactive displays to improve sharing and collaboration in the classroom.

"We are pleased to be entering this exciting phase of construction, where the community will begin to see construction progress on this long-awaited school project," said Justin Kelton, Executive Vice President of McCarthy Building Companies, Southwest division. "Our timeline is ambitious, delivering the fastest new school building of this size for our division. Thanks to our extensive pre-construction coordination systems and advanced scheduling techniques, we are ready to achieve this goal for the district and the community."