PHOENIX, AZ McCarthy Building Companies Inc.'s Education Services team was awarded a contract to modernize the Saguaro Elementary School and Casa Grande Middle School campuses in Casa Grande, Arizona. The Education Services team focuses on construction and renovation projects for K-12 schools and community colleges primarily in Arizona, New Mexico, and Colorado.

The project allows the two schools to share some spaces on a 46-acre campus for cost efficiency, including the administration offices, media center and the cafeteria. Both schools are part of the Casa Grande Elementary School District.

Built more than 40 years ago, the schools are in need of extensive modernization in order to improve the learning environment for students and staff. Saguaro Elementary School has 525 students in grades K-5th, and Casa Grande Middle School has approximately 580 students in 6th-8th grades.

"Because schools are continuing to face budget shortfalls, school modernization projects that result in operating and long-term cost savings are becoming a priority for many districts," said Dr. David Peterson, Senior Vice President of Operations for McCarthy's Educations Service team. "By having a construction team like McCarthy that focuses on cost savings, aggressive scheduling and innovative thinking, school districts are able to effectively improve the learning environment for students and teachers for years to come."

A committee of Casa Grande citizens recommended the shared campus modernization project after considering factors such as renovation costs, long-term use of the facility, and community needs. The design includes new school buildings constructed atop the middle school's current athletic fields and an assortment of 270 new parking spaces carved out of where some of the middle school's classrooms presently reside. The new school design will separate elementary and middle school classrooms.

"We are very grateful that voters supported the bond measure last November, and we look forward to providing new facilities for the students in these two schools," said Casa Grande Superintendent Frank Davidson.

The project is being funded by a bond measure that was approved in the November 2016 election to fund district facility improvements. McCarthy will begin construction in August 2017, and completion of the project is slated for the summer of 2018. SPS+ Architects is the architect on the project.