O-A-K Hosts Topping-Off Event
SUITE TALK October 30, 2020 admin
Owen-Ames-Kimball Company (O-A-K) recently held a topping-off ceremony for the new Lehigh Acres Middle School at 651 Sunrise Boulevard. The 167,000sf school is situated on 42+ acres and will cost nearly $43 million to build. It is slated for completion next fall.
O-A-K’s project manager is Alesha Watchowski, and the site superintendent is Tim Harkins. The project architect is RG Architects, P.A., Johnson Engineering is the civil engineer, and TLC Engineering Solutions is the mechanical, electrical, and plumbing engineer. The structural engineer is TRC Worldwide Engineering.
Attendees included Lee County School Board members and administration, Lehigh Acres Middle School administration, elected officials, and representatives from the construction team, architects, engineers, and inspectors. All were provided middle school-themed masks and hand sanitizers, and social distancing was practiced. After the ceremony, O-A-K provided lunch to the more than 200 subcontractors that have worked on the project.
Approximately 1,400 students enrolled at Lehigh Middle will move to the new facility for the 2021-22 school year. The site will accommodate Elementary School J in the future, and the schools will share an access road, bus loop, and central energy plant. When completed, the campus will have 30 classrooms, 16 labs, and a 502-seat gymnasium built to double as a hurricane shelter. Also, the cafeteria will be equipped with back-up power for emergencies. Updated security measures will include a single point of entry, access control and upgraded hardware on all classroom doors.
O-A-K’s Florida operation is an affiliate of its parent company in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and has offices in Collier and Lee counties. Its Lee County office is at 11941 Fairway Lakes Drive in Fort Myers. For more, please visit www.owen-ames-kimball.com.
admin
