Building for the Future with Jeremy Dwyer and John Pappas

Seneca Valley is building for the future. In this episode, we’re talking with CannonDesign architect, Jeremy Dwyer and John Pappas from Eckles Construction Services to discuss plans for the Intermediate High School construction project which will include a three-story classroom addition and a new Performing Arts Center.

IN THIS EPISODE, WE WILL REVIEW

• An overview of the construction project
• Unique features of the new building
• How the building will reflect the future of education
• Ways the Performing Arts Center will enhance opportunities for students in music, theater and beyond
• Timeline for construction and opening

Overview

SPECIAL GUESTS
Jeremy Dwyer, AIA, Associate Vice President at CannonDesign is an architect specializing in innovative K-12 educational environments that inspire and empower students. With over two decades of experience, he brings a passion for blending design, education, and community impact, reimagining how learning spaces can foster creativity, exploration and lifelong learning.

Since 2000, Eckles Construction Services has proudly served clients across Western Pennsylvania, specializing in construction management, project representation and construction administration.  Under the leadership of President John Pappas, who remains actively involved in nearly every project, the company delivers a wide range of services, including project phasing and sequencing, constructability reviews, facility planning, on-site supervision, critical path scheduling, and cost estimating. 

Transcript

FULL TRANSCRIPT (with timecode)

00:00:02:27 - 00:00:10:11
Welcome to Voices, a national award-winning podcast brought to you by the Seneca Valley School District. 

00:00:10:27 - 00:00:30:29
Jeff Krakoff: This is Jeff Krakoff. Today, we want talk about an exciting building addition project, and we have two special guests. Jeremy Dwyer, who is Associate Vice President at CannonDesign. And we're also joined by John Pappas, who is President at Eckles Construction Services. Welcome to you both. 

00:00:32:14 - 00:00:57:15
Jeff Krakoff: So let's just get an introduction first. I know that both your firms and you both specifically worked on Ehrman Crest, the elementary middle school, which is just a beautiful building. It's won all types of design awards. So, Jeremy, why don't you start? Tell us a little bit about, CannonDesign and what's happening with this latest project that we're here to discuss. 

00:00:58:13 - 00:01:28:20
Jeremy Dwyer: Yeah. So, again, I'm with CannonDesign. We were the architects on the Ehrman Crest project, for the elementary school and middle school. Again, we got selected, to be the architects on the addition project at the secondary campus for the IHS. And for this, we are looking at a an addition, a classroom replacement addition onto the IHS, and it also entails a performing arts center addition too. 

00:01:29:03 - 00:01:44:24
Jeff Krakoff: Great. And then, John, your role with Eckles Construction Services, I know officially you would probably describe yourselves as an owner's representative firm. What does that mean, and what exactly will you be doing on this project? 

00:01:45:20 - 00:02:39:04
John Pappas: So we kinda handle all aspects of construction projects related, to the district's, needs. At Ehrman Crest, we were on-site full time, working with the contractors and with the design teams, to kinda help, deal with it and manage the construction. For this project, we'll be doing the same. We'll have on-site representatives there, working with the owner, helping to deal with the, kind of the work that has to go on, while school's, in session on campus, and be working with the contractors to be able to help facilitate getting, their questions and things, facilitated on their end and and, help to be able to to process their information through to Jeremy and his team on the project. So we have we worked on Ehrman Crest. We actually do a lot of projects for the district, in addition to just these projects, just kind of, on all needs that they have, for for construction type projects. 

00:02:39:18 - 00:03:02:26
Jeff Krakoff: Okay. So this new project, there's been some media coverage. There's been some talk throughout the district. So as I understand it, it's a three story addition to the intermediate high school, and it also includes a performing arts center. So either one, whoever wants to jump in first, can you just give us an overview of what this project entails, then we'll get into some more detail. 

00:03:03:24 - 00:04:05:09
Jeremy Dwyer: Yeah. So I'll start off real quick. So the cool thing is this is the, one of the original buildings on the secondary campus. It was built in the 60s. It used to be all encompassing of the high school, until it broke off and just became just grades 9 and 10. And really through the due diligence of the district, and doing facility conditions assessments and kind of, you know, keeping their buildings up to snuff for the students. It's kind of come to a point where, the classroom addition is in need of replacement. So that's kind of where the project started from and what we've been tasked with. So we are looking at removing the classroom addition part of the building and designing a new three story, classroom addition on the front of it. And then also entailing a 1,600-seat, auditorium on the backside with some music accessory classrooms. 

00:04:06:05 - 00:04:14:27
Jeff Krakoff: Okay. You mentioned so some things are necessitating this this new space. What are some of those things? What are the drivers? 

00:04:15:16 - 00:04:17:25
Jeremy Dwyer: John, do you wanna go through those or I can do that? 

00:04:17:27 - 00:04:18:20
John Pappas: Go ahead, Jeremy. 

00:04:18:29 - 00:05:22:23
Jeremy Dwyer: Yeah. So when we go through, a building and do an assessment, you know, certain pieces of construction have certain lifespans, windows, roofs, wall constructions. I mean, a big thing today is energy efficiency, insulation. So kind of going through, we take that data that, the district has and has formulated through and looked at what are the deficiencies that they've come across. We know what's gonna need to get replaced. And there comes that delicate balance of how much are you gonna spend to, you know, fix some things versus just building new. And that now is coming to a point where the building being almost 70, 80 years old where that is tipping in the different, direction now towards it's somewhat cheaper to, build new versus just repair everything. And, by building new, it also allows us to enhance the student space and bring more of the different things that are happening today in today's schools to versus trying to retrofit. 

00:05:23:08 - 00:05:54:06
John Pappas: So I think some of this is right sizing too. I mean, there's programs as the enrollment has been ever increasing, within the district. There are spaces now, you know, for instance, the band room that, just can't, meet the needs of the number of students that are in the band. And so a lot of this project will be helped to be able to kind of bring some new programs that that currently didn't have a space that they needed as well as kind of right size some of the other spaces to be able to meet the, ever growing enrollment, within the district. 

00:05:54:21 - 00:06:12:13
Jeff Krakoff: Okay. Makes sense. So I'm sure as designers and project managers, you get excited about new features and things you can do and imagine. Why don't you walk me through both on the academic side of things and the performing arts? What are some of the features that you're excited about? 

00:06:12:27 - 00:07:59:26
Jeremy Dwyer: Just alone for the students. The student experience and space is gonna be different now, which is great. When they added the 11/12 building, the senior high onto the campus. It's a disconnected building. So currently both programs or students take classes in both buildings, depending on what, you know, the schedule is. But what we're doing is we're actually now reconnecting the campus. So your 9/10 building will be connected to the 11/12 building now. So the students no longer have to walk outside if it's snowing or raining. That that's one of the bigger things. So just improving that piece, it helps with safety. If you've ever been on campus during a classroom change, you know, they have like the crossing guards and, you know, security going across, right, and making sure that there's cars not coming. So that's one of the bigger, pieces that we're addressing there. But also too, we are creating a new campus quad like identity for the school. One thing about nature and the wellness of students. We're trying to look at that and give them some kind of respite space that they can connect with, go outside that is protected. So right now, if they wanted to, they have a nice green area in the front of the building, but you still have to cross the street to get to it. You know? You have to go through parking lot to get to some of these spaces. We're kind of addressing that with creating a different campus quad on the back that where a student can walk outside without having to cross the street to get to a grass area to have that kind of relaxing space or that zen moment, if needed, on that part. So which is, which is exciting because they don't have it now. So it's kinda giving them something new that they will, I think, enjoy. 

00:08:00:12 - 00:08:26:12
John Pappas: Yeah. There will also be a bunch of, form spaces within the new footprint of the building, which will be breakout areas for collaboration, to allow students to be able to get together to talk through projects. And, we'll kind of get a nice breakup of the building. So it's not just classrooms and corridors that that are static to be able to move between. There's spaces where, students can get to and really be able to explore how the their programs can interact with other programs in the building. 

00:08:26:26 - 00:08:53:07
Jeff Krakoff: Yeah. So you mentioned, like, collaboration. Right? In the old days, there wasn't collaborations. People were lined up in single chairs, right, with a desktop. But so so how do you design and construct a building that not only meets the needs today? Right? Technology changes, theory on education changes. But how do you make sure this building really reflects the future of education as well? 

00:08:53:26 - 00:10:02:26
Jeremy Dwyer: So with that, it is an interesting, you know, it's what's the pedagogy of the learning piece of what the school wants to achieve. And when we looked at Erman Crest, we wanted to push the boundaries a little bit outside the classrooms and try to achieve student success and have change the montage of, you know, when students come to school being excited. So little simple changes, creating flexible learning environments, adaptable learning environments, those collaboration zones that John was just talking about. The little moments and times throughout the, you know, the corridors that we have to have, right, the circulation spaces that we need to have, but just adjusting them in a way to where we can actually achieve these little nooks or spaces along the path to your classroom, that you could have a breakout session with another student. You can have that little quiet study area with another student. So if you're working on a project. So those little key nuggets kind of add a lot and help the experience of the space, so much as which will improve, you know, like, the social interaction and stuff. 

00:10:02:28 - 00:10:28:11
John Pappas: Yeah. I think also spaces now are designed way more flexible than they used to be. You know, it it's more of a function of getting the space developed, but then seeing what furnishings we put into it that can be adapted in into whatever teaching environment is needed by that teacher at that time. So it's not just pigeonholed into one room being set up for one thing. It's meant for that room to be able to, in the future, be able to be adapted into something else as the programs change. 

00:10:28:27 - 00:10:45:24
Jeff Krakoff: Okay. Let's talk a little bit more in detail about the performing arts center component. You know, how is this building gonna enhance opportunities for any students where they're involved in band and music, theater, and the other arts? Let's hone in on that a little bit. 

00:10:46:08 - 00:13:26:01
Jeremy Dwyer: Yeah. So the exciting part about that is really when you start diving into a project, you're figuring out the whys. What's going on? Why do we need to do this? What's the driver? What's the meaning behind it? And one thing that Seneca Valley has done a great job at is they really doubled down on the arts and really invested the time and resources on the learning aspect of it. And they've created like such a great program there. It's exploded in itself, but then like John mentioned before, the population growth, right? So you're kind of getting some of those students now that are coming in and seeing some of those activities happen. So now we're they're outgrowing their space. You know, their band I mean, the new band room is going to accommodate up to 200 students, which is pretty large, right? So really kind of right sizing the spaces for them. And then also now with their existing building, right, they were trying to find space for these different programs or different class types. So now really right sizing them and giving them the correct tools for learning. So we're not doing anything crazy. We're not, like, changing the mode, but we're we are really trying to accommodate what they've created and fulfill that need, with a little bit expansion because they are growing. It there it is becoming a very, the arts is, like, growing in that sense. It's becoming very popular within the school and it's, kind of taken off a little bit. So those classrooms, adjacent with the performing arts center will also, be able to fill their needs. But the big part with the theater, it's really a district component. So yes, it is attached to the 9/10 building but really this is gonna be for the community for the whole district, right? So everyone in the district will be able to use this building, have the, you know, the facilities that need their current auditorium only holds 1,100 hundred. Mhmm. So you can't get two full classes in there. You can get the whole nine and tenth grade in the auditorium currently. You can only do one class right at a time. So this will change some of the operations for them. It's gonna give them opportunities in music and theater. We're accommodating the theater, the performing arts center to accommodate all different genres, and classes. They'll be able to teach classes in there if they want in a lecture style. And then also too, like I mentioned before for the community, one of the things that the district does is they, you know, rent the space out or, you know, have other events that happen in there. So it's really all encompassing. Yeah. 

00:13:26:07 - 00:13:45:04
Jeff Krakoff: Sounds very flexible as both of you have mentioned. Just one more question on the academic side. So we touched on collaboration. Right? There's a lot of theory and education on hands-on-learning, on creativity. How is this new building and facility going to enhance those things? 

00:13:45:22 - 00:14:47:06
Jeremy Dwyer: So that's a good one. That's how we're going to kind of achieve that. So it kind of morphs within itself. Right, and how we can get the students to interact with the space. How can we get them to see things that they haven't seen. Right? You know, when you go into a traditional school, they have wings. Oh, there's the math wing. Oh, there's the woodshop wing. There's this wing. Right? Trying to look of how we can kind of blend these studies into the building. Right? Even with the performing arts, you're trying to introduce and kinda give a flavor to a student that's maybe as an athlete that's never taken theater class, right, and see that difference. Or maybe a science student, right, that's never taken or you're trying to kind of change around and blend in these different, class types, into the space so then you get a little bit different flavor of going through. I guess that to answer your question. 

00:14:47:12 - 00:15:08:19
Jeff Krakoff: Yeah. Yeah. So we've talked a lot about how it's gonna be positive and impact students. Right? Whether it's in the classroom, whether it's in the art setting. How about staff? You know, like, staff always gets excited about a new building, new technology, new furnishings. Tell me a little bit about how it's going to enhance the staff experience. 

00:15:09:18 - 00:16:00:09
Jeremy Dwyer: So with staff, so it's kind of looking at so we've had multiple different user groups throughout the process. Right? We have a leadership, you know, district team. We've met with, the school has set up different groups within the teachers, you know, science teacher, English teacher, math teacher. Right? And kind of we've gone through and synthesized what they needed in the space and how we can kind of make that work together. Like John mentioned, a lot of the classrooms are flexible. So if we put a math class on the third floor or an English class on the second floor, that's not it doesn't always have to be their current home. We can really pivot and adjust each year depending on how the workflow goes. But it's really kind of looking to make sure that they have the right technology, make sure they have the right tools to teach the students, in the space. 

00:16:01:05 - 00:16:37:03
John Pappas: The connectivity too that they're gonna have now where spaces will be more adjacent to them, where the flow of the building will be such that that, you know, they're not they're not far away from anything because they're gonna have a connection that that now bridges the gap, between the high school and the existing intermediate high school. And so, the staff will have all kinds of new spaces to be able to, grow into and expand into as well as the new spaces that are, you know, being built next to the spaces. So if you're in the high school, you're gonna have, you know, an easier connection to be able to get over to the intermediate high school if you have to connect to those areas. 

00:16:37:16 - 00:16:53:14
Jeff Krakoff: Okay. Awesome. So what what's the current status of the project? Where are we on the timeline? You know, there's always design, planning permits, design, finishing touches to opening day. Where are we, and what what's ahead for us?

00:16:54:05 - 00:19:04:06
John Pappas: Yeah. So we have some, big milestone dates coming up. We, you know, we're, Jeremy and his team are quickly getting to the point of being done on the design end and the team's, kind of in final coordination of disciplines, within that. We have a plan to be out to bid in September, you know, towards the third week in September, receive bids, towards the end of October, beginning of November, with the mindset that, there's gonna be some procedural things, you know, permits and things like that that have to get into the works, in order to be able to get the project started. So we're we're anticipating kind of the forethought of the district, was knowing  that one of the biggest challenges on that district is just the logistics and the, the ability to be able to have parking and connectivity across the district for that many students, in one place at one time. And so, even ahead of this project, last summer, there was a project that we did that that, added, tremendous amount of additional parking spaces, four additional parking fields, to allow for that flexibility than when construction started, and kind of being proactive with knowing what the goals and challenges would be to be able to get to that point, with the goal then of hopefully having contractors on board here by the end of the year, and then kicking the job off in February of 2026 for construction. And it will be broken down into a couple big pieces. The first big piece will be the three story academic area. The existing academic spaces will need to still be in use until which point in time that the three story area is completed and turned over. We're looking at this point of that being turned over, summer of 2028, and move into those move vacate out of the old spaces, for a portion of the existing building, move into the new spaces. And then from that point, that section of academic rooms, they're being vacated will actually be raised to allow them for the performing arts center to be constructed. With the goal then of the entire project, being wrapped up, summertime of 2030. 

00:19:04:16 - 00:19:14:04
Jeff Krakoff: Got it. For everything. Okay. So move in that that or late summer, early fall of that same year, I'm assuming. Right? 

00:19:14:06 - 00:19:32:20
John Pappas: Yeah. Move in of the new academic spaces in 2028, to make way then for the rest of the project. So construction will actually be about four and a half years, with kind of two big bites of the apple. Being the academic wing getting done, and then the site getting prepped for the performing arts center area to be done. 

00:19:32:27 - 00:19:33:26
Jeff Krakoff: Alright, John. 

00:19:33:28 - 00:20:02:00
Jeremy Dwyer: One of them. Oh, sorry. I was gonna say one other piece on there too is, we've strategically looked at not displacing any students. So this will the phased construction part will not disrupt the student, experience within the space. They'll be able to continue right on up until that summer of 2028, and then then switch over to the new building. So there won't be a there'll be a new, you know, walking path, but path. Nothing for the student space. 

00:20:02:14 - 00:20:11:27
Jeff Krakoff: That's extremely important. Is there anything else that we didn't discuss that you feel people should know about what's coming with this new, construction project? 

00:20:12:15 - 00:20:54:02
John Pappas: It it's certainly an exciting project. I mean, we've been so close to it for such a long period of time. You know, the district's been exploring studies for a number of years now, even prior to the design. This is kind of always been a building that that is, needs to be done. And it's certainly a big project, a big undertaking, on a on a pretty tight campus, that needs to be done. But we truly believe that the at the end of the day, when this is all finished, this will really be a showpiece for the district, and be able to connect these two buildings on their on their secondary side, which will provide a tremendous amount of opportunities for students, for many, many decades to come. 

00:20:54:04 - 00:21:22:16
Jeff Krakoff: Yep. Can't wait to see it. So if the work that both of you and your firms did on Ehrman Crest, We're looking for it. I know it's gonna be a great project, and people are gonna be very happy with the outcome. So, again, today, we had Jeremy Dwyer, who is Associate Vice President with CannonDesign, and John Pappas, President at Eckles Construction Services. Thank you both for all this great information, great discussion, and, enjoy talking with you. 

00:21:23:05 - 00:21:23:27
Jeremy Dwyer: Appreciate it. 

00:21:23:29 - 00:21:24:22
Jeff Krakoff: Take care.