Mira Costa High School is the
Manhattan Beach Unified School
District’s only high school.

(Save the date: RealShare Medical Office Buildings comes to the Four Seasons in Scottsdale, AZ, November 7 -8 )

MANHATTAN BEACH, CA-GlobeSt.com has learned exclusively that Mira Costa High School is being renovated, modernized and expanded by commercial builder Bernards in a $45.8-million, three-phase project expected to be completed in December 2014. The project, which broke ground last November, is being implemented in three phases to accommodate students and regular school activities on the existing campus, which will remain fully occupied and functional during all three phases of construction.

Phase I includes a new 57,000-square-foot math-science building, parking lots and various site improvements. Phase 2 will modernize portions of 13 campus buildings and provide accompanying site improvements. The final phase involves demolition of four existing buildings and construction of a multipurpose building, an 8,000-square-foot performing-arts center and satellite café. Phase 3 also includes modernizing three other facilities and site development for a central quad area for student gatherings and socializing.

The project, designed by the Los Angeles office of Harley Ellis Devereaux architects, will transform the school, which is Manhattan Beach Unified School District’s only high school, built in 1950 and currently serving about 2,450 students.

“Working on an active school campus complicates construction, but our team of construction professionals has extensive experience working on active project sites,” noted Steve Pellegren, VP of preconstruction services in Bernards’ Los Angeles office, in a prepared statement. He added that strategies for meeting clients’ needs, expectations and timetable without impeding regular school activities include implementing alternative work schedules that avoid nose that might interrupt school operations, rerouting pedestrian traffic to maintain safety and implementing dust-control measures.

While educational facilities are among Bernards’ specialties, GlobeSt.com reported exclusively in September that the firm is collaborating with SWA Architects as the design builder for a medical-office building on the White Memorial Medical Center campus in Los Angeles. The new facility, which Bernards broke ground on earlier this year, will cost $15 million to build and span 41,000 square feet; it is scheduled for completion in August 2013.