KAI Enterprises is excited to announce it has been selected for three Dallas College projects, which include:
- Architecture and engineering services for a new $26 million, 50,000 SF Cedar Valley College Campus Early College High School (ECHS).
- MEPFP engineering services in partnership with Perkins + Will on a new $25 million, 56,000 SF Interdisciplinary Academic Building and a new $37 million, 80,000 SF Student Success Center, both at the Eastfield College Campus.
In 2019, voters approved a $1.1 billion bond program to construct, improve, renovate and equip several buildings within the Dallas College District. Dallas College operates seven two- and four-year community colleges and other facilities all located in Dallas County, Texas. It enrolls more than 83,000 credit and 20,000 continuing education students each semester.
KAI President Darren L. James, FAIA says designing this new wave of early college high schools has its challenges in terms of creating facilities that reflect the nurturing aspects of high schools, but also maintain the rigor and flexible learning spaces expected of collegiate facilities. KAI has experience designing these types of early academies for the Dallas Independent School District (ISD), the second-largest school district in Texas, including new Collegiate Academies at South Oak Cliff, Franklin D. Roosevelt and D.W. Carter High Schools, and is looking forward to working on these transformative projects for Dallas College.
“The paradigm shift of providing students the opportunity to earn a two-year degree during high school has shown great promise across the nation and specifically in Dallas County. The process in this area began with the P-Tech programs and the Collegiate Academies serving as ‘schools within schools’ at partnering local, independent school districts,” said James. “That program in concert with the Dallas County Promise, a coalition of school districts, colleges, universities, employers, and communities that have joined forces to help more Dallas County students complete college and begin careers, initiated a renewed and continued push to prepare our local students with college or career-ready pathways after high school. With the current trend toward providing on-campus facilities for high school students to participate in collegiate courses, our designs must remain sensitive to the fact that while these students are advanced, they are still very much teenagers with aspirational goals.”
Dallas College has approved nine projects as part of its 2019 Bond Program Phase 1, which includes the projects KAI was selected for. Construction of all Phase 1 projects is tentatively scheduled to be completed by Dec. 31, 2022.
About KAI Enterprises
KAI Enterprises is a national design and build firm providing delivery-oriented building solutions with a diverse portfolio of experience, in-house multi-discipline professionals, and expertise in both design and construction delivery. Founded in 1980, KAI has grown into one of the largest minority-owned firms in the AEC industry. For 40 years, KAI has been instrumental in transforming communities through its expertise in residential, commercial, K-12, higher education, healthcare, science and technology, aviation, mobility, sports and entertainment, government, water and community-focused projects. KAI Enterprises is comprised of four distinct business units—KAI Design, KAI Engineering, KAI Build and KAI 360 Construction Services. To learn more about KAI, visit www.kai-db.com.
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