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MSA New Building Update 4/17/2013

We are reaching an exciting time in the building process with the main structural steel being erected and the CMU walls for the gym going up, the building is really beginning to take shape. This week the south walls nearest the existing MSA building will be backfilled and the jersey barriers invading the approach drive to the school will be removed. Thawing of the ground below the south side has also begun and the underground plumbing will start next week. Also this week the process of installing the precast concrete on the second third floors begins. Two weeks from now you will begin to recognize the building from the drawings because the framing of the exterior walls will begin and also the sheathing.

All of this is weather permitting of course, who ordered this wintry weather in April?

MSA New Building Update 4/2/2013

New Photos!

MSA New Building Update 3/27/2013

Currently construction crews are working on completing the basement bearing concrete masonry units (CMU) walls that the pre-cast plank sits on. The plank for the 1st floor is scheduled to start next week, April 1, 2013, then the structural steel skeleton will be erected, the upper pre-cast floors can then be put in place.

Heating and thawing the basement will start as soon as the pre-cast is in place. Some limited backfill around the gym was recently completed so the masonry walls can continue to be built on the West wall.

Building Update 3/12/2013

Foundation work in full progress! Construction crews are currently completing: lower level footings and pads, the elevator slab, and installing the below grade block on those footings with completion set for end of this week.

The masonry walls above grade at the lower level will be started by Friday March 15 and will take approximately 10 days to lay up to the level of the main floor. The steel erection skeleton will be set all the way up to the roof level with the exception of some of the upper beams followed by setting the pre-cast plank floors. By the middle of April the structure will be in place and work can start on upper steel framing.

Once the precast is set construction crews will start heating and thawing the lower level to allow for the underground plumbing, concrete floor and balance of masonry partition walls to be completed. The gymnasium walls will also be coming up over the next several weeks.

- David Loomis

Building Update 12/7/2012 - Groundbreaking

(Speech and photos from the Math and Science Academy new building groundbreaking ceremony held Friday, Dec. 7, 2012)

Good Afternoon and what a day this is!

I would like to welcome Representative Kieffer, Ms. Schmitz from the City of Woodbury, Mr. Johnson and Mr.  Miller from the Chamber of Commerce, Mr. Sorenson from Piper Jaffrey, Project Manager Rusty Williams, Mr. Wellman and Mr. Reynolds from Roschon Construction Co., Members of the Building Company and Board of Directors, Director Kreischer, honored guests, and especially and most importantly, the teachers, staff and students of the Math and Science Academy.

I’m Cheri Howe, a science teacher and Chair of the Board of Directors and, on behalf of the Board, we are honored to have you join us on this significant day in the life of our school.

Today we celebrate not just the groundbreaking of a new building, but the beginning of a new chapter in our school’s story; a story that began over 13 years ago when we first opened our doors to provide quality charter school education to Woodbury and the surrounding communities.  Because of our reputation as a small school known for its strong academic performance, the number of families who choose to send their children to MSA has increased our student population to a point where we have now outgrown our current facilities.

For at least the last five years, the MSA school community has discussed and researched possibilities for expansion which has led us to our groundbreaking ceremony today.  Our new building will allow for more families to join our school community and provide our students and teachers with additional classrooms, a gym and a performance space. 

The Board wishes to acknowledge our deep appreciation for the efforts of our previous school director, Mr. Simone, and the dedication of its parents, teachers and community members, both past and current, who have served as volunteer members on the Building Company and Board of Directors and their many hours of hard work that have made this all possible.

As we plan and prepare for this next chapter in our story, we are strengthened by the promise that our community will be improved, and our students will have a new and adequate space in which to learn and grow as scholars and global citizens.

Today we mark the beginning of the construction phase of this project and ask that you join with us in celebration.

Cheri Howe
BOD Chair

MSA Building Project Update - November 30, 2012

Good news for the MSA community!  On Thursday, Nov. 29, MSA and the MSA Building Company closed on the financing for the new building and renovations to the original building.  This means soon we can break ground and the construction process will begin.   We are only awaiting the remaining permit endorsements from the City of Woodbury before we are able to put shovel to the ground. 

Thanks to MSA Building Company members Ken Thielman, Rachael Erickson, Cyndi  Bluhm, and David Loomis who got the pre-building process on track.  Also, a very special “thank you” to Cyndi for her diligence in guiding the building company and MSA through this process – It wouldn’t have happened as “easily” (it was never easy. . .) without her perseverance.  When you see Ms. Bluhm next, please thank her for her commitment to helping the MSA community take its next exciting step into the future.

Please know that information regarding ground breaking, pre-construction and construction activities will be communicated to you on this web page, list serv and announcements home as needed to keep you up-to-date on the process.

MSA Building Project Update – November 15, 2012

Status

The MSA Building Company hired a general contractor in late October, Rochon Corporation, that has done dozens of school projects, both new construction and significant renovations. We are excited to be working with them and will benefit from their extensive experience in school construction. Our project is currently in the bond sales phase, our bonds will price right before Thanksgiving, and we will close on the financing on November 29th. Unfortunately, one of our key engineers on the project resigned last week. The architect has hired a replacement this week, but the construction will likely be delayed while the new structural engineer completes his drawings. City permits can’t be pulled to start construction until drawings are complete. We are working closely with Rochon and the City of Woodbury to minimize the delay.

Cyndi Bluhm
MSA Board of Directors
MSA Building Company Treasurer

MSA Building Project Update – October 26, 2012

Status

The Minnesota Department of Education sent MSA a positive Review and Comment letter dated September 26, 2012.  It was published as required in the St. Paul Pioneer Press on October 2, 2012.  MSA was also given a BBB- bond rating from Standard and Poors in late September.  This was great news and keeps the bond rates low.  The Building Company hired a project manager, Rusty Williams, to oversee the construction phase of the project.  On October, 24, 2012, the City of Woodbury gave final approval for the project at their regular City Council meeting.  The MSA Board of Directors approved all final resolutions and relevant documents relating to the project at the regular meeting on October 25, 2012.  The MSA Building Company Board also approved these same documents.

We have had some unforeseen delays since the last BOD meeting.  In order to do the project with student safety in mind, we have had to work out agreements with the neighboring landowners to the north for use of their property during and after the construction.  We have also spent a great deal of time in contract negotiations for the construction itself.  Our current target date for closing the financing is the week of Thanksgiving, with construction to start soon after that. 

We still expect the new building to be ready for preparation in the summer of 2013, and for opening when classes start next fall.

Cyndi Bluhm
MSA Board of Directors
MSA Building Company Treasurer

MSA Building Project Update – September 20, 2012

The Plan

MSA and its affiliated building company are in the process of securing bond financing to construct a new school facility of approximately 30,400 square feet on land near our current school facility. This new building will contain a regulation-size gymnasium, which will also serve as a performance space with a stage and bleachers. The lower level will include boys and girls locker rooms with showers. There will also be 10 new classrooms, including a large room equipped for science classes, a large room for band and other performing arts classes, and 8 additional classrooms ranging in size from 650-728 square feet. This new classroom size is larger than any regular classroom in our current building, except for room 122. (This does not include the science rooms or the computer lab, which are obviously larger.) It’s likely that one of the additional classrooms will serve as a multi-purpose room/ office for administration.

Financing for this project will be via issuance of approximately $10,300,000 of lease revenue bonds through the City of Woodbury. This total amount includes the cost of the new building and land, AND the refinancing of the prior bonds on the current building. The Board of Directors of MSA and the Board of the MSA Building Company have both approved this plan as submitted to the state.

The Process

This has been a long, complicated process, which has had to go through many levels of review (City of Woodbury, Minnesota Department of Education, Piper Jaffray and Co., Standard and Poor’s, and counsel for all parties involved). There has also been a significant amount of work done with the lead architect and construction company for the project.

Status

MSA’s counsel has gone through at least one draft of most of the relevant documents. The City of Woodbury gave preliminary approval for the project in August. Final approval is scheduled for an October 24th city council meeting. Standard and Poor’s conducted a site visit in late August in order to determine our bond rating on the project and we’re waiting for those results. One of the most time consuming parts of this process has been the Review and Comment process with MN Department of Education. We have submitted this major document to the department twice now and they indicated on 9/19/12 that they have no further requests and they will now finalize their approval, so we are waiting on their approval letter at this time. Once we get this letter, Piper Jaffray can begin marketing the bonds to investors and we can prepare for closing. At this time, we are hoping to close the bonds by the end of October and start construction the first of November. The plan is to be in the building for preparation by mid-August, 2013, and have it ready to start classes in September, 2013. The Building Company will also be hiring a project manager soon to manage the construction phase.

Background/History

The MSA Board of Directors has been working on a plan to expand our program for more than five years. The decision to work toward expansion was approved by the teachers about 3 years ago and approved by the parent community at a large community meeting around that time as well. With state funding remaining nearly flat for the past several years, the best way to stay financially viable is to increase our student population. Our goal is that this expansion will also increase our potential for additional class offerings, especially for our high school students in a few years when those class sizes grow larger. The Board developed and approved a long-range strategic plan in October, 2010 (last modified in January, 2011) which, after evaluation of several options for acquiring suitable space for our students, concluded that “the preferred option is to purchase or lease a new building that has a gymnasium and a minimum of eight classrooms located next to the existing facility”. We have been renting an additional 5-classroom building for the last 2 years as we grow our population in anticipation of the new building project that is currently is process. This strategic plan also set a goal of an enrollment cap at 450 students in the buildings, and we plan to strive to maintain this as long as possible, depending on funding decisions made at the state legislature and fundraising success.

Attempts to make this building project happen have been made in past years by former Boards of Directors. However, the timing of the market (extremely low interest rates, lower rates for construction work due to the economy, etc.) and of our enrollment growth made it finally possible to proceed. The Board authorized the Building Company to contact the landowner in October, 2011, to draw up a design and costs to support the building plan as recommended by the Building Company. The Building Company requested a proposal from Design Forum, Inc., for architectural plans and an estimate on the project in December, 2011. Meetings were held throughout the winter and spring with the architect and with Piper Jaffray on the feasibility of bonding the project. As a result, we are now nearing the end of the financing portion of the project and hope to start the construction phase soon. We are excited to see this new building plan finally coming to fruition and look forward to working together on all of the program decisions that will need to be made before next fall!

Cyndi Bluhm
MSA Board of Directors
MSA Building Company Treasurer

More Information

Please see files related in our Building Expansion Info section from past presentations on this project.