The School of Science and Technology Hill Country is this charter school district’s third new campus to open in San Antonio is just 12 months.  A year earlier, in August 2019, the SST North West campus opened on Culebra Road.  And, the Alamo campus opened in January 2020, in north east San Antonio.

SST Hill Country sits on a large parcel of land with open fields and plenty of parking.  In it’s first year, the school will serve students Pre-K through 6th grade.  Each year thereafter, the school plans to add a grade, eventually having classes for high school students.  At least one of the open fields will give way to a second building to accommodate the larger student body.

School of Science and Technology

School of Science & Technology Hill Country
9202 W Loop 1604 N
San Antonio, Tx 78254
210-688-9758
Website

The Project Team

From beginning concept through final construction, school projects require developers who can fund the project, architects with experience in school design, and builders who can keep the project on budget and on schedule.

Building Hope Charter School Real Estate

The Developer

The School of Science and Technology Hill Country was funded by Building Hope, a Washington DC based charter school developer.  Building hope provides real estate services, financing, and administrative assistance.   In effect, they own the school until the district is ready and able to take over.  This model allows the charter schools to move into a new building, increase enrollment, and build up cash reserves without any out of pocket costs.  And, it seems to be working.  Building Hope and SST have worked together on several projects in San Antonio and Houston.

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The Architect

The El Paso firm of Wright & Dalbin Architects were chosen to design the School of Science and Technology Hill Country.  They have over 30 years experience in design and project management.  Their resume’ includes work in education, multi-family, industrial, civic, health, hospitality, commercial, and historic projects.  In addition to the SST Hill County campus, Wright & Dalbin also designed the SST North West Campus and SST campuses in Houston.

Bartlett Cocke General Contractors

The Builder

Bartlett Cocke General Contractors were selected to build the SST Hill Country campus.  This was their first project for the School of Science and Technology district, but not their first school.  In fact, Bartlett Cocke is the largest school builder in Texas.  They’ve completed more education projects than any other general contractor in the state.  And, they’re building additional campuses for SST in 2021.

The onsite team was headed up by Project Manager; Kirby Coats, Superintendent; James “Jimmy” Worswick, and Assistant Superintendent; Derek Foy.

Our Work

As with other SST campuses in San Antonio, we provided the basketball goals, volleyball system, wall pads, and the Sport Court® Response High Gloss Gym Flooring.

Just like most new construction projects, the overall construction schedule was a little tight.  This tends to create a mad rush of activity as the project is scheduled to be wrapping up.  And, we’re generally in the building towards the end of the schedule.  This means we’re often waiting on other sub-contractors to complete their work before we can begin our work.  But, we’re used to this type of rushed environment.  It’s like this on every new construction project.

School of Science and Technology Hill Country Basketball Goal

Basketball Goals

Our on site activity began on June 1, 2020 with the delivery of the ceiling suspended basketball goals.  These were installed right away.  It’s best to get them off the floor and out of the way as soon as possible.  This makes for a safer job site and reduces the risk of the goals being damaged.

The two basketball goals were manufactured by Gared Sports.  Both goals were upward folding ceiling suspended units with height adjusters.  The fold up function is powered by an electric winch operated by a key switch.  The height adjuster was also operated by a electric motor and key switch.  This type of functionality is perfect for a gym whose goals need to move several times a week.

School of Science and Technology Hill Country Gym Wall Pads

Wall Pads

The wall pads were delivered on June 15.  But, we didn’t begin installation until the end of June, once the painter’s had finished spraying the walls and ceiling.  As with the other SST campuses, we hung the pads on a hidden fastener system, called Z Clips or Z Rails.  This looks outstanding, but definitely increases the installation time.  It also increases materials costs.

School of Science and Technology Hill Country Sport Court Gym Flooring

Gym Flooring

The Sport Court® Response High Gloss gym flooring was delivered on June 24.  The School of Science and Technology Hill Country would be the 3rd SST campus in San Antonio to get Sport Court® gym flooring.  There were also 3 campuses in Corpus Christi and 2 in Houston with this same floor.

Installation of the floor began on July 7, 2020.  And, it was a quick process.  We had all of the flooring and the base molding installed in just 2 days.  But, it wouldn’t be until July 29 that we would return to paint the game stripes.  We also installed the remainder of the doorway transition strips at the same time.  We prefer not to have these gaps in our schedule.  However, it is sometimes necessary due to the activities of other sub-contractors working on the project.

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Volleyball System

We like to install the floor sleeves for the volleyball system while we’re installing the gym floor.  We have found that this increases the accuracy of the placement of the sleeves.  And, this fits pretty well with our perfectionist mindset.

The process to install the volleyball sleeves requires coring a hole through the concrete floor slab with a diamond tipped core bit.  Water is used to lubricate the bit.  The water also traps the dust that is created during the cutting process.  This makes the task virtually dust free.  And, the water is immediately captured with a wet/dry vacuum.  So, there’s no mess.

Honorable Mention

On some job sites there are one or two people who stand out.  These individuals make you hope you work with them again.  And, on other job sites, there is no one fitting this description.  We’ve seen it both ways.

On the School of Science and Technology Hill Country project, honorable mention goes to Bartlett Cocke Project Manager Kirby Coats.  Throughout our involvement on the project, Kirby was great to work with.  She was professional and knowledgeable.  Kirby knew the project specs, plans, and her job site.  She exhibited great communication skills.  And, she understood our need to do things right.  We don’t cut corners.  Some project managers almost seem as if they want their subs to cut corners in order to finish faster.  Kirby was not like this.  And, this is a trait we respect and appreciate.  We certainly hope to work with Kirby again.

Kirby Coats Bartlett Cocke

If you’d like to learn more about The School of Science and Technology, please visit their website or one of their numerous social media pages.

To learn more about Sport Court® gym flooring or to get our expert assistance laying out your gym, please contact South Texas Sport Court.