School Days:
Gilroy Unified School District
What's on First: Brownell Renovation Project
By Melanie Corona, Public Information Officer, Gilroy Unified School District
Project Highlights
Cost: $70.8 million, thanks to the Gilroy vot-
ers who passed Measures E and P
New Construction: Six classroom pods
(6th, 7th and 8th grades) with integrated
outdoor learning spaces; administration build-
ing; kitchen and media center; recreation space
(Modernization)
Project: Improvements to existing gymnasium
and multi-purpose room (Additional Project)
Highlights: Available visitor parking and stu-
C
hances are if you’ve driven down First Street
between Carmel and Hanna Streets, you’ve noticed
a great deal of activity and change. Thanks to the
voters of Gilroy who passed Measures E and P,
the one of the oldest campuses in the Gilroy Unified School
District is being transformed into a new, state-of-the-art cam-
pus to serve students in sixth through eighth grades. The first
phase will be completed in the summer of 2020.
Conceptualizing for the project began in early 2018 with
a design team that consisted of staff members and admin-
istrators from GUSD and Brownell. The design team was
led by Aedis Architects and the project continues to garner
national attention for its attention to design, safety and secu-
rity aspects. The school design boasts 21st century learning
environment “pods” for each grade level, featuring innova-
tive and collaborative classrooms and an integrated outdoor
learning environment. Students will have the opportunity to
learn using new technology infrastructure, maker spaces and
science labs.
The Brownell Modernization Project officially kicked off
in the summer of 2019, and the first phase included total
demolition of a number of classroom buildings on the north
side of the campus. During this demo phase, Flint Builders,
the contractor on the project, uncovered the old pool that had
long been cemented over, as well as a number of “treasures”
that exist on a school campus that is over 80 years old.
Following the initial demolition, much of the work being
done was underground with electrical work and foundational
trenching being the first order of business to complete. In
February 2020, above-ground work really accelerated. Early in
February, the first of the modular pods were delivered to cam- pus from the Lodi, CA plant where they were manufactured.
These classroom pods will house sixth, seventh and eighth
grade students, with integrated outdoor learning spaces for
students and central collaboration areas for teachers. Unlike
traditional construction projects, each building that is being
constructed for the Brownell Renovation Project, is manu-
factured offsite and transported in when the site is ready
for install.
In addition to the six new pods, which house seven
classrooms each, the project includes a new administration
building, kitchen, state-of-the-art library and media center,
and recreation space for student use. The existing multi-
purpose room, used for band and choir performances, and
other activities and gymnasium will not be replaced, but
updated. Additional visitor parking, student drop-off areas,
and additional staff parking, a new student quad, and renova-
tion of athletic and recreation areas will also be included in
the project.
The project is on the forefront of energy efficiency. Each
pod will generate and utilize its own energy using a photo-
voltaic panel that feeds electricity back to the grid. The pods
will decrease the school site’s carbon footprint by generating
kilowatts which will be conserved and utilized by the campus
during the school year and then will feed back into the City’s
energy grid during summer break.
The existing sixth grade classrooms will be demolished in
summer of 2020, and the new pods will be installed and ready
to be occupied in December of this year. The Gilroy Unified
School District will host a Phase I opening in August 2020
and a ribbon cutting that welcomes the entire community to
tour the campus in May of 2021 once the project is complete.
78 SPRING 2020
GILROY • MORGAN HILL • SAN MARTIN
gmhtoday.com
dent drop-off area; added staff parking; student
quad; relocate track and athletic fields and reno-
vate existing outdoor recreation areas.