Beloit, WI: CCI transformed a former retail center site into an extraordinary new 115,000-square-foot, four-level K4-12 independent charter school.

According to CCI Project Manager Aaron Combs, “We provided preliminary design concepts, oversight and management of the design team, coming up with a pre-construction schedule once the final site was chosen. Then we had to demolish a former grocery store. We had a tight 12-month schedule and site challenges.” CCI worked with unforeseen complications due to existing utilities, the global pandemic, and material delays and shortages. The team kept the project on time while providing a safe and clean work environment.

The result? A state-of-the-art building that, according to Combs “Will be a national example of school design and functionality.”

CCI used many materials and finishes unprecedented in most educational facilities. Designed by EUA Architects, the school boasts 23 labs integrated throughout the school, glass sliding door/wall panels to allow for flexible classrooms, touchless faucets and sinks in each classroom, a two-story library, a biomedical science room, a robotics lab, makerspace, media production studios, and much more. According to The Lincoln Academy leadership, “This building is an incredible place for scholars to learn and grow.”

Recognition

The Lincoln Academy Project was awarded the Designed to Earn the ENERGY STAR design rating. According to ENERGY STAR, the rating is “awarded to commercial and multifamily high rise new construction projects that have been verified that the estimated energy use meets strict U.S. EPA criteria and received an ENERGY STAR 1 – 100 score of 75 or higher.” This means that the school building is designed to perform better than 75% of comparable buildings that are being built today.

The Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) of Wisconsin honored CCI with a Gold Project of Distinction Excellence in Construction Award for construction of The Lincoln Academy. The Projects of Distinction Awards recognize construction projects that are built on merit and are judged by a panel of construction experts based on several criteria, including quality, owner satisfaction, unusual challenges and safety.

At a gathering of build team members was held to celebrate the near-completion of The Lincoln Academy and to present the school team with a surprise send-off gift, a check for more than $200,000 to support the school’s career and technical education programming. Nearly twenty companies who worked on the project gifted the school monetary and material donations.