PHOENIX, ARIZONA, September 30, 2004— Kitchell Contractors Native American Division is pleased to announce the opening of the First Mesa Elementary School located on the Hopi reservation west of Polacca, Arizona. This is the First Mesa Hopi nation’s first new school since the original Polacca Day School was built over a century ago.

The dedication ceremony was held on Tuesday, August 31, and classes began on September 13.

The $16.6 million federally funded project is located on Route 264 and will host more than 200 Kindergarten through sixth grade elementary students. Included in the 74,000-square-foot facility is a library/media center, computer lab, adult and special education rooms, kitchen and dining hall, dance plaza with PA system, art room and kiln room, two playgrounds, a 1,400- person capacity gymnasium, baseball and soccer fields, outdoor basketball courts, two sand volleyball courts, a weather station, bus/maintenance building and 22 on-site staff housing units.

The school is currently applying for LEED™ certification. If the application is approved, the school will be the first elementary school in the state to obtain the prestigious certification.

The project, while a major challenge due to its remote location, has been a construction success. Kitchell Contractors President Mark Pendleton said, “The quality and workmanship are among the highest I have seen on any project in Arizona.” He attributed the success to the owner, the project team and the many subcontractors that were involved throughout the 16-month project duration.

The new building replaces the original school, built in 1904, which consisted of nine separate buildings and a makeshift baseball field and basketball court.

Kitchell served as the construction manager at-risk. Dyron Murphy Architects of Albuquerque, New Mexico, was the designer.

Kitchell is also serving as construction manager at-risk on the $16 million Second Mesa Day School for the Hopi Second Mesa. The school will complete in the spring of 2006. The new school is replacing the existing school and will include 11,900 square feet of classrooms, a multi-purpose room, mini-gymnasium, art rooms and labs, a cafeteria and kitchen, a 2,000-square-foot administration center, ball fields, and 25 on-site staff housing units. The architect is Dekker, Perich, Holmes, Sabatini of Henderson, Nevada.

Kitchell’s Native American Division has completed numerous projects for communities throughout the West, including Blue Lake Casino for the Blue Lake Rancheria in Blue Lake, California; Black Oak Casino for the Tuolumne Band of Me-Wuk Indians in Sonora, California; the Cliff Castle Casino project for the Yavapai-Apache nation in Camp Verde, Arizona; four phases of the Chaparral Business Center office project in Scottsdale, Arizona; and renovations to the Fort McDowell Yavapai Nation's Fort McDowell Casino in Fountain Hills, Arizona.