Thomasville School K-6
Thomasville, Ga.
BEST PROJECT
Sent by: Parochial Constructor Group
Owner: Thomasville City School District
Main design company: Altman + Barrett Architects
General contractor: Parochial Constructor Group
Structural Engineer: Lindsey and Ritter Inc.
This historic renovation, expansion, and modernization effort spanned six phases on a fully operational school campus over two years, with the $53 million job spanning 91,000 square feet of space through a new field house, CTAE building, cafeteria, gymnasium, and three-story classroom building. Subsurface groundwater forced continuous adjustments to sequencing and dewatering. To solve long-term drainage, the team installed multiple permanent French drainage systems, redirecting groundwater to the campus storm system.
In the middle of the site was a high-pressure gas line serving the city of Thomasville, along with two 4-in. sanitary sewer lines for the surrounding community and a 5-by-7-foot storm sewer. The relocations were done with the city, utility providers, engineers and the school district together, supported by utility investigations and improved excavation procedures.
Two of the buildings were registered historic structures, totaling 36,000 square meters between them. Since they could not be emptied at the same time, their reforms were divided into separate phases. Preserving its exteriors to Historical Society standards presented a supply problem because the original kiln-fired brush brick had been out of production for decades. The team worked with a manufacturer through repeated mock-ups and revision cycles until a special custom run matched the original face. Cast stone arches, special windows and decorative balustrades were recreated from custom molds using modern materials.
Photo by J and D Images
All six phases continued while the campus remained open, and crane deliveries and pickups were arranged around arrival and dismissal times and events. Construction was enclosed behind blocked access points and marked pedestrian routes, and the project team worked with school officials to avoid scheduling conflicts.
Over 296,700 hours of work, the project recorded no lost time injuries or OSHA records. The project also absorbed an architect change, six superintendent transitions and a major redesign of the classroom building’s main entrance after the owner halted a planned demolition.
