Grover Cleveland Charter School in Reseda, CA, had outgrown its space. The 1961 finger-plan campus was planned for 1,500 students, but enrollment had doubled. As the student population grew over the years, portable classrooms were erected to house them, creating a haphazard layout.
In 2017, the Los Angeles Unified School District undertook a $170 million modernization project to address the most critical physical and structural deficiencies and build a campus that served 21st century educational needs. Using a collaborative design-build delivery method, the district contracted Kemp Bros. Construction, PBWS Architects, and IMEG to work with district stakeholders.

The plan preserved the original finger-plan but removed portable classrooms in favor of six new buildings built around an enlarged quad. Circulation was further improved with a new promenade that runs parallel to the finger-plan’s spine.

IMEG provided structural, mechanical, electrical, plumbing, and fire protection engineering design services for the four-phase project that was completed in 2022.

Components of the project included:

• New three-story building for science classrooms
• New two-story performing arts building
• New daycare center
• New one-story cafeteria with commercial kitchen
• Construction of approximately 57 new general and specialty classrooms and support spaces
• New on-site maintenance and operations area
• Reconfiguration of two existing buildings’ science rooms into standard classrooms
• Seismic upgrade to the gymnasium
• Infrastructure upgrade including utilities, safety and security systems, and technology networks

The project is Collaboration for High Performing Schools (CHPS)-certified and exceeded California Title 24 energy compliance standards. Sustainability efforts included enhanced ventilation systems for science classrooms, LED lighting systems with daylighting controls, high-efficiency HVAC systems, demand control ventilation, and the use of water saving plumbing fixtures. Key systems included high- efficiency rooftop package equipment for individual classrooms, a direct-digital control system, high-efficiency plumbing fixtures for water conversation, and acoustic analysis to achieve classroom noise criterion ratings of 40 or less.

Construction was completed while the campus was fully occupied, first putting classrooms in temporary spaces, and moving into new buildings as they were completed.