Portage School of Leaders and The Club Teen Center
South Bend, Indiana
Panzica has been privileged to design and build every facility for the Career Academy Network of public schools, starting with our award-winning design of their initial facility in 2011. Most of these have been challenging, fast-paced adaptive reuse projects, enabling the system to continue rapidly growing with the kind of flexible and innovative educational spaces that are its hallmark. This latest project, a new high school known as The Portage School of Leaders, was by far the most challenging to date.
Starting with the iconic Mid-Century shell of local landmark Temple Beth El, which had occupied the site for 75 years, our field team had only nine months in which to final plan, construct, and add on to an extensive 40,600-square-foot renovation that included asbestos abatement plus some originally unplanned to-the-foundation demo and total reconstruction of approximately one-third of the original structure due to hidden deficiencies discovered during unlayering.
This pace required a workforce of up to 125 craft workers on site at any given time, often working 10-hour days, weekends, and holidays to achieve January dedication of the new 7-12 school with its “Future Lab” focused on collaboration, career exploration, and workforce skills development.
The finished design was consciously respectful of the former synagogue’s legacy and notable architecture, while contributing expansion elements adding a new yet complementary 21st Century vibe befitting the building’s dynamic repurposing. The facility also houses a well-used Boys & Girls Clubs Teen Center, with a combined capacity for serving 300 youths.
Delivery Method: Design-Build – Integrated Project Delivery (IPD)
Building Area: 40,600 sf – two stories
Structure Type: Steel / Masonry / Concrete
Services Provided
- Design-Build Planning & Construction
- Interior Design
- FF&E Specification & Buy-out
