Dunbar High School

New high school project awards more than $57 million to local disadvantaged businesses

Dunbar Senior High School has a historic past as one of Washington, DC’s premier schools, and now has a future in the same role as the Smoot/Gilbane Joint Venture built its brand-new facility on the existing campus. The existing 1970’s era school remained in operation during construction and was demolished after the new school building was completed. Operations were safely maintained on the campus at all times during school construction.

Project Overview

Design-build delivery with Perkins Eastman
Exceeded local, small and disadvantaged business inclusion goals
LEED^® for Schools v2009 Platinum certification – at the time of completion it was the highest rated and only project worldwide to receive 91 out of 110 points
Included two 20,000-gallon stormwater cisterns, low-E glass and low-VOC materials and recycling detritus from the historic building in off-site projects

“The Gilbane construction team performed at a high level of professionalism and technical know-how that demonstrated expertise in subject matter and interpersonal skills. Their ability to monitor and control critical issues has enabled the school to open on time and within the budget allotted for that phase.”
Teddy Gebremichael
former Program Director
McKissack & McKissack DC

Quick Stats

Client:
- District of Columbia Dept. of General Services
Location: Washington, DC
Architect:
- Perkins Eastman Associates
Size: 280,000 SF
Awards:
- U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) National Capital Region, Project of the Year
- Washington Building Congress, Craftsmanship Award
- Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) Metro Washington Chapter, Excellence in Construction
- Engineering News Record (ENR) Mid-Atlantic, Top Projects Award
- Associated General Contractors (AGC) Washington, DC Chapter, Washington Contractor Award
- U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) Maryland Chapter, Excellence Award