Gilbane renovates Rochester's World of Inquiry School No. 58

Gilbane Building Company, one of the leading construction services firms, completed the renovation and expansion of the World of Inquiry School No. 58. This project is part of Phase One of the Rochester City School District's Facilities Modernization Program (FMP), for which Gilbane is providing program management services. The FMP is a three- or four-phase program to update and improve school facilities throughout the Rochester School District, and is expected to span 15 years. The program aims to modernize schools to address academic and programming needs. including technology and operating systems improvements. additions to accommodate anticipated educational, athletic and extracurricular needs; site improvements to address pedestrian and traffic safety concerns, and refurbishment of existing interior finishes, including the abatement of asbestos‐containing materials. The 100‐year‐old World of Inquiry School No. 58 was renovated and expanded from a 488‐ student K‐8 program to a K‐12 program facility that accommodates more than 800 students. The school's new design creates collaborative spaces that support its expeditionary learning program and are flexible enough to evolve with the school. The project consisted of extensive demolition and renovation of the interior spaces, the addition of full‐building air conditioning, and transformation of the former kindergarten wing into a new media center/computer lab. The project also included two major additions. One addition was for classrooms, administrative space and two‐level commons‐corridor gathering spaces. The other addition houses a varsity sized gym/stage/entrance corridor, bathroom facilities, fitness room and locker room. "Gilbane is honored to provide this extraordinary learning facility to the teachers and students of Rochester," said Tom Rogér, Vice President of Gilbane Building Company. "The efforts of all project team members and Rochester City School District constituents throughout the entire process were remarkable, and the end result will surely provide students with the state‐of‐theart learning environment they deserve." Phase One of the FMP includes work on 12 schools throughout Rochester. With the completion of World of Inquiry School No. 58, Gilbane has completed 9 of the 12 schools in this initial phase, with the remaining projects anticipated for completion on varying dates through August 2016. "The World of Inquiry offers a unique educational program that makes many families want to choose city schools, and I am pleased that the school community now has a facility as attractive and conducive to learning as any school building in the area," said superintendent Bolgen Vargas, Ed.D. "I look forward to congratulating the school's first graduating class this June in their spectacular new building."