Work is under way on the new Combination School for Hillsborough County Schools in Valrico, Fla. The project consists of two separate schools on a 32-acre site designed to share common functions to reduce the required floor area and keep cost down. Efficiencies are gained by sharing the chiller plant, kitchen areas, service functions, staff parking, and media center facilities, reducing the programmed floor area by 3,000 sf.
Designed by architect Reynolds, Smith and Hills, Jacksonville, Fla., with Anston-Greenlees as MEP engineer and Master Consulting Engineers as structural engineer (both based in Tampa), the $29.5 million project contains a 940-student, 88,130-sf elementary school and a 1,538-student, 136,580-sf middle school. The combined campus will also provide a county park and serve as a hurricane shelter.