(Seguin) — The pandemic hasn’t put a halt on the Segun ISD’s 2019 bond issue projects. In fact, the district is pretty much still intact with its original timeline for not only the rebuild and remodel of A.J. Briesemeister Middle School but also for the partial renovation of Jefferson Avenue Elementary School.
On May, 4, 2019, Seguin ISD approved a $64.7 million bond package. Included in that package was $39 million for the total renovation of Briesemeister at its current site and $3.9 million for the renovation of the south building at Jefferson.
Seguin ISD Chief Communications Officer, Sean Hoffmann, says the middle school project, of course, is the largest and is expected to take two to three years to complete.
“Really, Breezy is the larger project of the two. The community near the school now, they may notice that construction fencing has been placed around the parking lot and perimeter of the building. Really, that’s the most visible change at this point. Leading up to now, a lot of work has been done as far as having the design finished and the design documents completed. The construction documents are completed. We, of course, hired a contractor Satterfield & Pontikes (S&P), to do the project for us. It’s getting some traction and as we come up in the next few weeks, the community will also see some work being done in the exterior area, the front parking lot and a temporary bus loop in the back of the building so those are some of the more visible things. We’ll also have construction trailers there and a lay down area for materials and equipment. Again, that project is just starting and as our community is in the area, they are going to notice more of the construction traffic and they will notice more of a presence as that project starts to get on its feet,” said Hoffmann.
Rendering of the entrance to the new AJB Middle School.
Hoffmann says this particular project will be unique in that construction will be ongoing as students remain in the classroom.
“We are working with the contractor to ensure that our student and staff safety is prioritized at all times. There will be instances in which certain parts of the school will not be used and we’ll have students in temporary classrooms and so, it’s going to take some effort, a concerted effort among all involved but this is not the first time this type of project has been done at a Texas public school so, we are confident that over the next couple of years because the project, again, will take some time since the building is going to be occupied over the next couple of years — this project is going to move forward smoothly,” said Hoffmann.
All in all, Hoffmann says the Seguin ISD is excited to still be on schedule and looks forward to seeing this project through.
“The architectural design is finalized. We have an idea of what the school is going to look like and it’s going to look wonderful. It’s going to look tremendous inside and out. We are very excited for this project and we know we’ve got elementary school students who will be going to Briesemeister once this project is done and I think they and their families are going to be extremely pleased once the Briesemeister project is wrapped up but we’ve got to get there first,” said Hoffmann.
Architects say the new AJB will have a completely new look and feel. Construction work is set to begin soon.
Now while, the Jefferson partial renovation project is not as big as Briesemeister’s, it is still expected to be the start of a brand new future for the campus.
“Our Jefferson Elementary School project is currently underway as well. During Spring Break, construction fencing was erected and a demolition sub contractor was on the job site. They came in and essentially tore out the covered walkway on the south end of the building. That walkway is going to be enclosed. In order to do that, we needed to remove it and get rid of all of the demolition material that was taken out. So, that’s where we are on with Jefferson. Again, that is a considerably smaller project than Breezy but again, it’s going to end up improving our Jefferson campus greatly, enclosing an area and doing some remodeling inside. So, we are hopeful that will be wrapped up here much sooner than the Breezy project,” said Hoffmann.
Both Briesemeister and Jefferson are part of the bond’s Phase Two timeline. Seguin High School’s Matador Stadium which opened up in the fall along with the installation of new playscapes at each elementary school were among the projects tackled during Phase One.