Breaking Ground at Cristo Rey Jesuit High School
Rendering Courtesy of Bray Architects
On September 18, 2019, CG Schmidt and Cristo Rey Jesuit High School broke ground on their $33 million, 100,000-square-foot brand new school. This event was a record-breaker for CG Schmidt in terms of attendees. More than 800 students, faculty, parents, community partners and media gathered in a large tent to celebrate the groundbreaking, which included school cheerleaders welcoming guests and a ceremonial beam signing.
Hosting an 800-person event on an active jobsite is no easy task. In order to make the event seamless, safe and fun for our guests, our team got to work prepping the jobsite. The CG Schmidt team helped organize the event in various ways such as coordinating the hauling, laying and compacting of crushed asphalt for a 150-foot by 80-foot tent pad; cleared and hauled away weeds and overgrown grass near the fence throughout the entire site; hung construction mesh on the perimeter of the entire fence as well as hung CG Schmidt banners and updated safety and gate signage throughout the site. Additionally, we coordinated the placement of large equipment for viewing; arranged the dirt pile, shovels and hardhats; secured the donation of a generator for power inside the tent as well as secured the donation of portable restroom facilities. Furthermore, our team erected temporary fencing to conceal the restrooms and arranged safety cones, security tape and wayfinding signage to separate guests from construction work.
Over the past several months, the CG Schmidt project team has worked to demolish the exiting 112,000-square-foot building and clear the site for its new home. The new school will include everything from science labs and a large gymnasium to a soccer field and a new performing arts space. The new school will be open for the 2020-21 school year.
Currently operating in a 45,000-square-foot facility at 1215 S. 45th St. in West Milwaukee, the student enrollment is at 398. The new building is designed to accommodate up to 500 students.
Cristo Rey High School offers a unique student work-study program. This program, which CG Schmidt takes part in and all students are required to participate in, redirects the pay the student would have received towards their tuition. The students work one day a week to learn about different jobs in the community and gain valuable on-the-job experience. Each student has the opportunity to work and learn skills that will serve them well in college and their careers. Cristo Rey students graduate with a solid education and a better idea of the type of work they want to delve into in the future. CG Schmidt is proud to participate in this program and give Cristo Rey student’s hands-on experience working in an office environment.
We look forward to our next large event with Cristo Rey… their grand opening next fall!
