Under the BITCO-Kitchell joint venture, the renovation of this elementary and high school on the Navajo reservation includes a new 58,000-square-foot academic building and 25,320-square-foot dormitory near Chinle, Ariz. and Canyon de Chelly. The dormitory accommodates high school students who live in remote areas of the reservation, and the classroom building is for grades K-8. The project included utilities improvements, a 9,000-square-foot bus shelter and maintenance building, new football and track fields, and additional sitework. The project was funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.

Construction Manager at Risk

• Funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, it was the largest Bureau of Indian Affairs ARRA project as of July 2010
• LEED® Silver certified
• 90% Navajo subcontractor and trade participation rate

Kitchell’s performance on the First Mesa Elementary School led to the award of another school in this remote area. The project encompassed 11,900 square feet of classrooms, staff housing, a cafeteria/gymnasium/multipurpose facility, art studio, labs and computer classrooms, cafeteria, administrative space, recreational space, and a 6,000-square-foot bus shelter. Originally, Second Mesa Day School was to be built on an acre on the crest of a hill. After learning the intended site was sacred – used for traditional snake gathering ceremonies – the building was moved to an adjacent area. Kitchell ensured, with extensive fencing, that the sensitive area remained off limits to any equipment and kept the jobsite constantly accessible to local leaders, including tribe archeologists.

Construction Manager at Risk

• Kitchell awarded project following successful completion of First Mesa Elementary School
• Project involved protecting culturally sensitive area

This 75,000-square-foot, K-6 school, bus barn, and staff quarters were funded in part ($14 million) by the Bureau of Indian Affairs. To help meet LEED ® requirements, harvested water was used to irrigate the native plants and trees on-site. More than 100 skylights bring natural light into most of the building’s work areas and maple gymnasium floors from a replanted forest, and 78 percent of construction waste was diverted from the landfill. A weather station and educational displays throughout the building make the building a learning experience in and of itself. Colors and materials selected for the exterior of the building were chosen to complement the surrounding area and reflect traditional Hopi culture. The project was completed on a fast-track delivery method even though the expansive soils under the building’s footprint and the asphalt paving needed to be lime-stabilized.

Construction Manager at Risk

• First LEED® certified school in Arizona
• Sixth LEED® building in Arizona
• Second LEED® BIA school in the nation