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The Southeast Division of McCarthy Building Companies, Inc. (www.mccarthy.com) announces the completion of Haw Creek Elementary School and Lakeside Middle School in Cumming, Ga.  The schools, part of the Forsyth County School System, will begin serving the community at the start of the 2009-10 academic year. 

Haw Creek Elementary is a 145,757-square-foot facility that can serve up to 1,175 students.  Lakeside Middle, at 142,170- square - feet, can serve up to 1,025 students.  Both two-story buildings are located on a shared 96-acre campus.  The two buildings were designed in tandem to provide visual continuity on the campus.  Design features include red brick exteriors with dark bronze roofing and gutters, as well as coverings over exterior doors and bus loading areas.  Combined, the schools construction includes more than 550,000 concrete blocks and one million bricks.

“The simultaneous construction of two schools with the same contractor was a first for our county, and we could not have been more impressed with McCarthy,” said Robert Sewell, Forsyth County School’s chief facilities and operations officer.   “The entire team’s honest and professional nature resulted in two beautiful facilities that will further enhance the success of our students.”

During construction, McCarthy worked to overcome unforeseeable challenges, including one stemming from the overall economic downturn.  After a concrete subcontractor defaulted, McCarthy looked to its own resources to perform site concrete work such as sidewalks and entry ways throughout the campus.  The ability to shift gears and manage unexpected circumstances helped McCarthy remain on time and on budget for the delivery of these schools.

“The representatives from Forsyth County Schools have been great partners throughout every aspect of these projects,” said John LeFauve, McCarthy’s project manager.  “Their knowledge of the construction process helped us work through challenges on the site and, ultimately, deliver two top-notch schools that will serve this community for generations.”

When Haw Creek’s outdoor recreation area was designed, Principal Amy Davis put together a wish list for a variety of structures and interactive equipment.  Tight budget requirements meant that not all of that equipment was financially feasible.  To help make Davis’ vision a reality, McCarthy stepped up to donate the additional equipment and labor needed to complete the area for Haw Creek students.      

“McCarthy has been an extremely generous partner to Haw Creek and we are thrilled with their donation to our playground,” commented Davis. “Our students and staff are excited to receive the new equipment, which I can assure you, will be used many times throughout each school day. Not only has McCarthy provided our community with a high quality school building, but they continue to show that they care about helping us grow healthy, well balanced kids.”

Design features such as tile and wood are carried throughout the schools.  Both buildings feature media centers, music rooms and classrooms equipped with smart boards.  Teachers are able to regulate individual classroom temperatures thanks to a water source heat pump system that also provides greater energy efficiency. 

About McCarthy

McCarthy Building Companies, Inc. (www.mccarthy.com) is the nation’s 10th largest domestic general contractor and 5th largest education construction manager (Engineering News-Record, September 2008).  With 145 years of experience, McCarthy is one of the nation’s oldest, privately held construction firms. Committed to the construction of high performance buildings, the company provides general contracting, construction management, program management and design/build services for healthcare, educational, parking structure, entertainment, commercial, retail, laboratory, biotechnical, microelectronic, civil and industrial facilities. In addition to Atlanta, McCarthy has offices in Newport Beach, Sacramento, San Francisco, San Diego, Phoenix, Las Vegas, Dallas and St. Louis. McCarthy is 100 percent employee owned.