Story

Glenridge Middle School is a new, modern, 158,000 GSF building in Hyattsville, MD, that is LEED Silver and Net-Zero ready. The school includes science classrooms, a central atrium space, cafeteria commons, outdoor courtyards, a gym, a kitchen, music studios, a STEAM lab, and an athletic field with a capacity of 1,200 students. It was built for Prince George’s County Public School by Grimm & Parker Architects, with MCN Build as the Prime Contractor. The building is orientated around a central commons space, which includes a library and dining area. On one side of the building is a 3-story classroom wing with spacious classrooms, science labs, media spaces, and a special education wing, including collaboration spaces with spectacular views of the surrounding nature. The other side contains administrative offices, counseling offices, health and fitness spaces, and music and dance rooms. The interior has polished concrete and tile finishes, and the gender-neutral restrooms have entire height partitions – one of the first in the PGCPS portfolio. The school has a large geothermal well field below the exterior athletic field and a complete rooftop solar panel array. The school is where Glenridge Community Park used to be and takes cues from it to pay homage to the forest around it with exterior tree canopies and an interior forest-like theme in the library. The exterior features two large courtyards, a sports plaza, play surfacing, and a large athletic field on the west side, restoring a vital feature of the park for the neighborhood. Most notably, the exterior facade compares a striking metal panel and brick combination that will shine for years. Glenridge Middle School was a project that immediately faced a procurement challenge during the peak of material escalation, leading to high uncertainty about material availability. The Project Team began an aggressive buyout and submittal process to ensure that all materials would be ready as needed per the schedule. This was all before additional permit delays, further exacerbating material escalation issues. This project also involved the Owner, Architect, and Contractor, who had never worked together before. However, from the start, all stakeholders were committed to collaboration to ensure this project went smoothly from design to delivery. The construction faced several challenges, including building what was a park tucked deep into a residential area. The project disturbed over 12 acres of land, meaning a complete temporary storm drain system was needed during construction and robust control measures throughout the site with regular DPIE (Department of Permitting, Inspections and Enforcement) oversight. Protecting the surrounding area was a priority, and MCN took added measures to ensure our project site did not negatively impact the neighbors. The project saw over 50 subcontractors and consultants collaborating to construct a phenomenal new building that PGCPS will be proud to have in its catalog.