Tellepsen Completes Bayshore Elementary Construction Four Months Ahead of Schedule
Students Displaced by Hurricane Ike United Again in Brand New School
HOUSTON, Texas, January 25, 2010 – Construction of the new $18.5 million Bayshore Elementary School in La Porte by Tellepsen (www.tellepsen.com), a longtime Houston commercial and industrial builder, was completed four months ahead of schedule, it was reported today.
Tellepsen, working with project architects PBK, subcontractors, inspectors and the La Porte ISD on a fast-track schedule, built the 105,000-square-foot school in just nine months.
Howard T. Tellepsen, Jr., chairman and CEO of Tellepsen, credited Tellepsen’s integrated team approach to pre-construction, project management and construction, as well as the company’s real-time project tracking systems and processes, as factors that contributed to the early completion of a challenging project on an aggressive schedule to reunite a student body split up after Hurricane Ike damaged the original school beyond repair.
“Getting all of the involved parties on board during the design phase, our use of established, hand-picked subcontractors, and frequent communication throughout the project kept everyone on track and focused,” Tellepsen said. “Also significant was the absence of major storms last summer.”
The new Bayshore Elementary has a capacity of 750 students. It replaces the old school, damaged by Hurricane Ike, and was built at a new location on McCabe Road that’s further inland. According to Tellepsen, exterior walls and windows were designed to withstand Category 4 storms. The school will serve as the command center for La Porte in the event of area disasters.
For added protection, the school now sits 4 feet higher than originally planned and 18 feet above sea level. Tellepsen removed and reconditioned 4 feet of soil and then added another 4 feet over a 130,000-square-foot area. Some 30 excavators removed and replaced existing soil, nearly 40 18-wheeler trucks hauled in up to 300-350 loads of dirt a day, eight bulldozers spread the soil out, and six rollers compacted the soil to specifications.
At the peak of construction, Tellepsen directed and managed 170 people, including as many as 40 subcontractors.
“The students and staff of Bayshore Elementary were relocated to five different La Porte ISD campuses following Hurricane Ike, and our friends at Tellepsen shared our desire to bring them back together at their own school as quickly as possible,” said Lloyd Graham, La Porte ISD superintendent. “Throughout the project, the Tellepsen group demonstrated not only a commitment to a rigorous construction schedule, but also tremendous devotion to the La Porte and Shoreacres families who had been impacted in so many ways. The quality of Tellepsen’s work is only surpassed by the depth of their dedication, and thanks to their efforts, our Bayshore family is ‘back home’ in a beautiful new state-of-the-art facility just 15 months after the storm.”
The school’s archway entrance to the library was created with bricks from the former Bayshore Elementary and it includes the cornerstone from the original school.
About Tellepsen
A cornerstone of the community, Tellepsen, a fourth-generation, family-owned and operated construction company with more than a century of experience, has constructed many landmarks that profile Houston’s landscape. Enhancing the quality of life in our communities, Tellepsen’s building experience ranges from healthcare, K-12 and higher education, industrial plants and churches to mission-critical facilities, retail, hospitality and office buildings. For more information, visit www.tellepsen.com. |
