HOUSTON—In 2012, the Houston Independent School District received substantial funding through a bond election to build a new high school for the performing and visual arts campus in downtown. McCarthy Building Companies broke ground in February 2016 with the understanding that additional funding would be required to bring this 21st century facility to fruition.

In October 2016, the Kinder Foundation made a lead gift of $7.5 million toward a $10 million capital campaign led by a nonprofit dedicated to raising funds for the high school—to ensure the long-awaited 168,000-square-foot campus opens with its core arts curriculum features, GlobeSt.com learns. In recognition of the Kinder Foundation's donation, the new downtown school will be named the Kinder High School for the Performing and Visual Arts upon opening in late 2018.

McCarthy recently celebrated the topping out of the performing arts school. To celebrate the occasion, crews hoisted an evergreen tree atop the structure, which signifies the highest point of the building has been reached.

“McCarthy has a long-standing history of building complex, architecturally significant projects in the performing and visual arts industry, and we are very pleased to be a part of this landmark project for HISD,” said McCarthy Houston division president Jim Stevenson. “We are excited that the education of generations of young artists will be shaped by this building and the work so many skilled and talented people put into it.”

McCarthy is also celebrating a project safety milestone. Construction crews have clocked 175,000 hours on the jobsite without a recordable safety incident.

“The journey in working with McCarthy and the project team to this point has been great and a learning experience like no other,” said principal R. Scott Allen. “The HSPVA faculty and students are extremely excited to see this building of steel and concrete morph into a beautiful and state-of-the-art arts magnet school that we get to enjoy for decades to come.”

Located downtown in close proximity to Houston's Theater District, the high school is designed to accommodate 750 students specializing in the arts disciplines, including theater, writing, music, visual arts and dance. The five-story building will feature a front entrance with double-high glass windows and a wide stairwell, 800-seat main theater with a balcony, dance and music studios, 175-seat recital hall, 200-seat mini-theater, 300-seat black box theater, rehearsal rooms, outdoor dining area, two levels of underground parking and an outdoor roof terrace. Gensler is the project architect.

McCarthy is also celebrating a project safety milestone. Construction crews have clocked 175,000 hours on the jobsite without a recordable safety incident.

Instant Insights /

School Project Hits Safety Milestone

Related Stories

Recommended For You