It’s been almost twenty years of planning for the Castaic High School project to break ground, and it’s all happening now. The first construction crews arrived in early June with an expected move in for ninth graders in August 2019.
Located in the hills of the Santa Clarita Valley, about 35 miles north of Los Angeles, the overall project site is around 200 acres with a budget of $126.2 million dollars. “Of the 200 acres, it’s about 58 acres that turns into the high school campus proper. There are 16 buildings that total 250,000 square feet…” said Randy Wrage, Project Manager for Castaic High School Construction, Inc. The school will also get new football, track, soccer, baseball and softball fields.
Once complete, Castaic High School will have a capacity of 2,600 students and will graduate its first senior class in 2023.
“Working with Jason and KNA has been nothing but great. When any questions or issues arise, KNA always puts considerable amounts of effort to getting a resolution; which is something that Kemp Bros very much appreciates.”
—Chad Nelson, Project Manager, Kemp Brothers
KNA Structural Engineers began collaborating with Ruhnau Clarke Architects (RCA), an architecture firm that specializes in K-12 schools and long-term client, in 2011. Under the direction of Roger Clarke with assistance from Matthew Nicholson, the school’s design will support a highly creative learning environment for students. Jason Smith is KNA’s lead Project Manager and works side-by-side with RCA and Chad Nelson, Project Engineer for Kemp Brothers, the General Contractor for the project. “We had to chop off part of a hill along with extensive grading to prep the site,” said Jason. He added, “It’s rewarding to see the first concrete pour. Kemp Brothers are doing drone fly overs, so each week we’ll see the progress. It’s just coming to life. The technology is awesome.”
See the drone fly over:
Structural systems for the campus include:
- Concrete tilt-up construction
- Steel braced frames
- Concrete masonry
- Roof framing of steel beams and metal decking
Additional information:
See KNA’s education projects that we’ve designed and contact one of our structural engineering experts at 949-462-3200.