An out-of-the-box approach to DSA review helped a new high school to receive approvals in record time and set the stage for future projects
Dougherty Valley High School is the largest public high school project in California to be privately financed and constructed. Built for the San Ramon Valley Unified School District to serve the quickly expanding community, the new campus comprised of ten buildings plus play fields, a track stadium, and a swimming facility, needed to be completed in record time.
To meet this fast-track schedule, Tipping Mar proposed intensive peer review sessions to allow the Division of the State Architect (DSA) representative to efficiently review all components of the multi-building project. Because the sessions took place in Tipping Mar’s offices, the teams were able to immediately address any comments and have changes reviewed again in the same session. This approach significantly streamlined the review process. Final DSA approval was achieved in two weeks rather than the typical four months.
Gale Ranch Middle School is the second developer-built middle school in the Dougherty Valley development. The new wood-framed, steel and concrete construction includes two classroom buildings, an administration building, a multi-purpose building, a library, and a gymnasium on a 15 acre site. This project also required DSA approval.
The school currently enrolls only sixth and seventh graders, but is designed to eventually accommodate up to 1,000 sixth, seventh and eighth grade students.