As Grossmont High School historian Lynn Baer once told it, “A lot of students think it’s a haunted house and they want to know all the stories.”
Baer, in an April 2011 Patch interview, was referring to Old Main, the original building at Grossmont High School erected in 1922.
This week, the Grossmont Union High School District formally declared complete its renovation of the 35,000-square-foot landmark, also known as the Castle, which became district headquarters in 1958.
Over the years, the building at 1100 Murray Drive fell out of compliance with state requirements for earthquake safety and access. Much of it was made out of unreinforced masonry. Now steel bars reinforce the granite walls.
The $14.2 million construction project originally was set for completion in November 2012. Later, the move-in date was projected to be December 2013.
Work involved two structures — the Stone Building and Old Main, both of which required comprehensive utility, environmental and seismic upgrades to meet current safety, Americans with Disabilities and Field Act standards.
The offices house employees in the special education, business, educational services departments, and human resources departments as well as the superintendent’s office.
The district says the project team “went to great lengths to assure that modern improvements and traditional architectural features were successfully blended in order to honor the building’s rich history.”
Notable design features include:
- Preservation of the original, unreinforced stone façade with structural upgrades.
- Replacement of existing fixed windows with high-efficiency, operable wood windows in keeping with the original wood style.
- Removal of late-addition structures to open up the interior floor plan, reclaim original courtyard views and allow daylight and natural ventilation to once again flow through the building.
- Preservation of interior structural elements and exposing them as unique design features, including roof truss systems, wood beams and columns.
- Recreating the Gothic arch wood entry doors to preserve the original entry.
- Reuse of existing wood flooring and reconstruction of the original building skylight.
- Renovation of east and west courtyards to accommodate use by students and district staff.
- Creating interior areas for preservation and historical displays, in collaboration with the District’s museum curators.
- Removal of exterior canopy sun shades and window-mounted air conditioning units from the façade of the building.
- All-new HVAC, plumbing, electrical, lighting, fire protection and communications system updates.
- Addition of modern design features such as steel and stone tile stairs, stainless and glass handrails, glass conference rooms, exposed ductwork and curvilinear (arched panel) ceilings.
A reopening and dedication ceremony was held May 1, which included public addresses by El Cajon May Bill Wells, GUHSD Superintendent Ralf Swenson, Deputy Superintendent Scott Patterson and governing board president Rob Shield.
The event also included a presentation of the colors by the Grossmont High School NJROTC and performance by the school’s Red Robe Choir.
The majority of the funding for this project is from former redevelopment funds, primarily from the City of El Cajon. The remaining balance of the project funding comes from the district’s capital facilities fund and Propositions H and U.
Proposition H and U resources were used specifically to bring the structure into compliance with ADA standards, including an elevator and wheelchair accessibility, the district said.
The project team included district staff, program manager Gafcon Inc., general contractor Turner Construction and architect LPA Inc. and inspector services by Knowland Construction.
And stories of a haunted Castle?
Baer, who runs the museum at Grossmont High School along with her sister Connie, said: “I don’t tell them because I don’t want [students] sneaking in in the middle of the night. … A lot of people are very attached to the building.”
— A GUHSD press release contributed to this report.
