What was once an open-concept school featuring a hexagonal campus layout, John Lewis Elementary School was dated and due for a total modernization. A feasibility study was conducted and found that the old building didn’t lend itself to renovation easily due to it being mostly concrete, which didn’t quite fit the neighborhood or the rest of the D.C. Public Schools (DCPS) portfolio, this is when D.C. Department of General Services (DGS) engaged MGAC.
MGAC’s scope of work included project management services involving demolishing the existing school and re-building a new one on the property. Working closely with DGS and DCPS, MGAC maintained and executed programmatic work that reflected a 21st-century learning environment that met the guidelines of educational and programmatic spaces. The scope of work also included the construction of playgrounds and other sport-related fields and facilities. MGAC spearheaded the feasibility study, the test fitting options and provided an outline of approaches to meet the needs of the school to follow DCPS regulations.
An added element of MGAC’s work included sustainability efforts, which featured making the school more energy-efficient to allow it to produce onsite and carbon-free renewable energy. With efforts led by MGAC, the school is pursuing Net-Zero certification which would make it the first within DCPS to do so.
“John Lewis Elementary represents an important step for DCPS to meet the sustainability goals of the Clean Energy D.C. Act, as it’s D.C.’s first school to meet Net-Zero and Well Building standards. MGAC’s experience in this process provides valuable insight into the challenges of achieving DCPS’s energy, health, and wellness goals within the budget, schedule, and community constraints of school modernization in the District,” says MGAC’s Alex Casey, Project Manager for the John Lewis Elementary School.
MGAC began working with DCPS in 2017. Currently, the MGAC and DCPS’s portfolio includes nine active projects with over 35 completed projects, roughly 10 of which have been for the D.C. Department of Parks and Recreation (DPR).
About MGAC
MGAC is a global boutique consultancy dedicated to managing and representing its clients’ best interests. Its success is rooted in hiring exceptional people who are driven to do challenging work with the unique blend of experience, integrity, creativity, and commitment that separates it from its competitors.
MGAC provides best-in-class services that include project management, program management, development management, project controls, cost management, bank + fund monitoring, schedule management, health + safety, technology solutions, FF&E procurement, and relocation management. The firm has the ability to integrate these services to provide a completely customized and tailored solution to suit its clients’ project or program specific needs.
With ten offices located throughout the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom, MGAC prides itself on being large enough to offer global services, but pragmatic in its approach so they can provide the level of personal care and attention-to-detail that their clients deserve. For more information, visit MGAC.com.
The 2024 virtual Men’s Round Table will be held Q4, 2024, date TBD.
