Alten Construction and Multistudio begin modernization of Longfellow Middle School

BERKELEY, Calif. - Jan. 31, 2024 - PRLog -- Alten Construction (https://www.altenconstruction.com/), a full-service San Francisco Bay Area commercial construction company, recently began the modernization of Longfellow Middle School (https://www.berkeleyschools.net/schools/middle-schools/longfellow-middle-school/), part of the Berkeley Unified School District (https://www.berkeleyschools.net/).

The $22 million modernization project started last month and includes the addition of an entrance gallery and pedestrian walkway, renovation of existing classrooms, storage rooms and restrooms to enhance the overall learning environment, classroom modernization to include new finishes, lighting and minor repair of casework, replacement of exterior stucco and waterproofing at the school's main building, a redesign of the campus landscape and open spaces, and partial upgrades made to the building system to meet code and operational needs.

"We're extremely grateful for the opportunity to provide our communities with quality learning environments to teach the next generation," said Bob Alten, president of Alten Construction. "It has been an honor to be involved on his modernization project, and we look forward to it being unveiled to the students, staff and community."

The modernization efforts for Longfellow Middle School aim to celebrate the imagination and creativity of its students. BASE Landscape Architecture (https://www.baselandscape.com/) has designed uniquely shaped platforms for students to gather, connect, see and be seen in order to create a vibrant facility that allows the community to take pride in and feel celebrated by.

During construction, the campus will remain active. The project is expected to be completed in August 2025.

"Longfellow Middle School is a vibrant and nurturing community, and we wanted our design to reflect the joy and curiosity we observed in Longfellow parents, students, educators and facility teams," said Joshua Kehl, project designer at Multistudio. "Our team is thrilled to be part of realizing the vision of the school community with a campus designed for an inclusive, 21^st century education."

Located at 1500 Derby St. in Berkeley, the sixth through eighth-grade school is home to just over 400 students. The small campus offers a rigorous curriculum, gives personal and meaningful attention to its students, and meets the needs of its diverse learners.

Alten Construction has completed a number of K-12 and higher educational projects throughout the San Francisco Bay Area, including Aspire Berkley Maynard Academy, Marin Catholic High School, Castro Valley High School, Elmer Cove Language Academy, Independence High School and Bahia Vista Elementary School, among others.