Juanita High School

Project Updates

Video Tour: Juanita High School scheduled to open in fall

Jun 8 2020

Juanita High School is scheduled to open to students in fall 2020. Project managers at the site recently gave a virtual tour of progress at the school.

Facility Advisory Committee hears community voice on future projects

May 18 2020

Thank you to the 1,259 participants who shared 1,421 thoughts and gave 42,854 ratings to the thoughts shared! We invite everyone to explore the feedback.

LWSD refinances bonds to save taxpayers $18.6 million

May 15 2020

On April 30, 2020, Lake Washington School District (LWSD) sold a total of $118.85 million of tax-exempt refunding bonds, which will refinance $134 million of its existing debt, to take advantage of lower market interest rates. The refinancing will save the district’s taxpayers more than $18.6 million over the next nine years.

Digital Signage at school: Eagle Eye on Sustainability

New schools awarded PSE grants of $261,978 for energy efficiency

May 15 2020

Energy-efficient design saves money in the long run. To implement energy-efficient features into its construction projects, Lake Washington School District (LWSD) applied for grants from Puget Sound Energy (PSE). The projects received grants that totaled $261,978.

Planning for future enrollment growth

May 15 2020

Lake Washington School District (LWSD) staff regularly meets with representatives from Kirkland, Redmond and Sammamish to determine what new housing projects have been permitted and what that will mean for enrollment growth in our schools.

In addition, this year, LWSD worked with Flo Analytics, an outside planning, GIS and data-analytic consulting firm, to prepare long-range enrollment projections. Flo Analytics staff were complimentary of the district’s enrollment projection work to date, including the level of planning and detail they maintained.

May 2020 updates at Juanita High School

May 14 2020

At Juanita High School, construction on Phase 2 is on schedule. The Phase 2 wing has now been connected to the main building. All interior painting is complete and the concrete floor is polished. Carpets and rubber tile flooring are being installed and classrooms are receiving whiteboards and tackable wall panels. Underground utility work is complete. Curbs and sidewalks for the new east parking lot are complete. Landscaping has begun at the site. The second and final phase of the high school is scheduled to open to students this fall.

Aerial Photos

Photo credit: Tim Rice Photography

Drawings and site plans

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Project Information

This project will rebuild and enlarge Juanita High School, built in 1971. It was included on the Long-Term Facilities Task Force recommendations to remodel and enlarge aging schools. The Task Force also recommended, based on community feedback, that the current Field House by retained. The fieldhouse and pool building will remain as it is.

Architect: Integrus Architecture

Contractor: Cornerstone Contractors
Square Footage: 217,000 s.f.
Capacity: 1,800 students (increase of 504)
Spaces: 36 standard classrooms plus science labs, art, CTE, special education, instrumental and vocal music, library, theater, cafeteria (total of 71 teaching spaces)
Estimated Project Cost: $145,477,000 (Includes construction costs of $82.5 million in 2016 dollars, $39.5 million in non-construction costs, and $23.5 million in expected construction cost inflation between now and the building’s completion)
Planned opening: September 2020 (one year early)

Remodel vs Rebuild decision
The district completed a Remodel vs Rebuild Study to determine whether to remodel the existing school building or rebuild a new school. The study was informed by a two-day workshop that leveraged the expertise of four contractor firms, architects, a commercial developer and cost estimators all experienced in school construction.

Based on this work, the academic building would be replaced rather than remodeled. The analysis shows the cost to remodel the building, including the upgrades to meet current codes and educational spaces comparable to other recent projects, would cost 1.8% less than to construct an entirely new academic building. This figure includes the cost of temporarily housing students during construction.

The analysis also showed that renovation of the existing building would result in a less efficient school given the current story and a half volume. The space would be less efficient to heat. It cannot be easily converted to two stories to gain needed additional classrooms space.

The study also showed that while remodeling would result in inadequate parking considering the addition needed to accommodate more students. When the cost to replace parking is included, the cost to remodel and expand the current building would be 3.8% more than the cost to rebuild a new school.

State construction assistance
Due to its age, the school became eligible for state funds for renovation or replacement in 2001. State funds are also anticipated due to lack of classroom space at the high school level in the district overall. The district expects to receive $15 million in State Construction Funding Assistance for this project.