North Powder Elementary School Seismic Rehabilitation

 
McCormack Construction is partnering with North Powder Elementary School on a comprehensive seismic rehabilitation project designed to bring the historic elementary school into compliance with modern earthquake safety standards. The $1.5 million project is currently in progress under the direction of Lance Dixon, Superintendent, and represents a critical investment in student and staff safety for the North Powder School District. McCormack was selected as a return client based on positive past project experience with the district.
 
The project involves seismic rehabilitation designed to meet structural performance objectives for a Risk Category IV building, achieving Life Safety structural performance and Hazards Reduced nonstructural performance for BSE-2E loading, as well as Immediate Occupancy structural performance and Position Retention nonstructural performance for BSE-1E loading. Key components include renailing existing plywood roof sheathing, installation of blocking and framing clips at wood shear walls, removal and replacement of exterior plywood, installation of new holddowns into existing and new footings, and strengthening of existing glulam beams. McCormack is serving as CM/GC and general contractor while providing estimating and value engineering services.
 
The primary challenge has been completing this comprehensive seismic work within the limited summer construction window before school resumes. Early delays occurred when abatement work was not completed in a timely manner, pushing back the project start by several weeks. This compressed the already tight schedule and required creative solutions to ensure the building would be ready for student occupancy at the start of the school year without compromising the quality or completeness of critical seismic improvements.
 
To address these challenges, McCormack’s superintendent implemented aggressive schedule management strategies, including stacking trades to maximize productivity, ensuring all submittals were completed early to prevent downstream delays, and utilizing McCormack’s own workforce to fill gaps and maintain momentum. The team remained forceful in pushing the schedule forward while maintaining safety and quality standards, demonstrating the flexibility and resources necessary to recover from early setbacks.
 
The North Powder Elementary School seismic rehabilitation project is on track to achieve occupancy in time for the start of school. For McCormack Construction, this project demonstrates expertise in complex seismic rehabilitation of occupied educational facilities while meeting critical deadlines that directly impact student safety and educational continuity.