CLASS Act

School brightens Kenosha neighborhood

Edward Bain School of Language and Art

By Brendan O'Brien

Photo courtesy of Riley Construction Co. Inc.

There's a 16-acre lot in Kenosha that was nothing more than a desolate eyesore less than two years ago.

Now, through Riley Construction Co.'s vision and vigor, that same lot features the crown jewel of the area, a vibrant elementary school for 900 students.

"It was an amazing transformation from what I would call a blighted piece of property to something I think really added value to every house in that neighborhood," said Thomas Riley, president of Riley Construction, of the Edward Bain School of Language and Art.

Before breaking ground at the site, the contractor had to contend with substandard soil and groundwater. Riley discovered the soil was contaminated with high levels of chemicals, and the groundwater had high concentrations of metals. Methane gas was also found on the surface.

"I won't call it typical, but I won't call it uncommon either," Riley said, "particularly in areas where there has been a lot of manufacturing like this one."

An American Motors plant once occupied the location.

"Ultimately, it became a parking lot for hundreds of semis," Riley said.

To combat the high levels of contaminants, the construction company placed a 12-inch cap of clean soil over the contaminated ground. Riley also installed an underground pipe system to vent any potential buildup of methane.

Once it had the soil conditions under control, Riley had to deal with an aggressive construction time line that required heightened cooperation between the architect, contractors and the Kenosha Unified School District.

	Project Name: Edward Bain School of Language and Art Location: Kenosha Submitting Company: Riley Construction Co. Inc., Kenosha General Contractor: Riley Construction Co. Inc. Architect: Bray Associates Architects Inc., Middleton and Sheboygan Engineer: Ambrose Engineering Inc., Cedarburg Owner: Kenosha Unified School District Project Cost: $13.8 million Start Date: July 2003 Completion Date: June 2004

"We had it built and operational within 12 months," Riley said. "We actually finished it two months ahead of schedule. That really shows the level of cooperation that we got from everyone involved."

Riley praised the construction team for its work building the school.

"Everyone did a great job," he said. "Everybody pulled their weight, and it really went well."

The 126,000-square-foot school, which features large windows to keep the interior bright, is decorated with southwestern-style concrete wagon wheels and sun medallions. The construction team also used red brick on the exterior of the first level and topped it off with a light beige brick.

"They put them in a pattern … with one brick out a little farther than the other, every other course," Riley said. "From an exterior perspective, it's just an upbeat, interesting-looking design."

From a construction standpoint, one of the unique features was the placement of the gymnasium entirely within the building.

"We didn't waste money on brick walls for a gymnasium on the outside, which really doesn't serve any architectural appeal," Riley said. "We enjoyed building it because schools are not the most complicated structure that we build. But when you can do a lot of masonry work and put color on it and features, it's a lot more fun to build."