TurnerBatson has been selected by the Mountain Brook Board of Education to design a 43,000-square-foot addition and renovations to the existing Mountain Brook Junior High School. Brasfield & Gorrie is serving as the construction manager on the project.
The design will require demolishing the oldest, one-story portion of the school and replacing it with a three-story building. The new building will include a new secure entrance, large two-story student commons area, 18 classrooms, physical education lockers for all students, administrative area and front desk, a “main street” for offices for counselors, nurse, security and tech support desk, as well as a tornado-safe “hardened” space.
Other improvements on the campus include an expansion of the cafeteria, a conversion of the stage theater to a multi-purpose space, circulation improvements in the athletics area, dedicated athletic locker rooms, improved and consolidated faculty areas and updates and improvements to the media center.
“I believe that everyone at MBJH is eager to enter this next phase of our overall development,” said Principal Donald Clayton. “These are some very exciting plans and we cannot wait to have it ready for our student body.”
The exterior of the building will also be updated. The existing front curved feature will be replaced with a turret and a gabled roof will be added to the library and Overbrook Street elevation. Also, all classrooms will have abundant natural light.
The project is part of the Mountain Brook Board of Education’s system-wide capital project, which plans to make facility and infrastructure improvements to each of its six schools. In October, the board had announced plans for a 75,000-square-foot expansion of the high school, which will get started in May and is expected to be completed in February 2023.
Construction on the junior high building is slated to begin at the end of the school year, with the project completed for Fall 2022 occupancy.
