Rough Rock Community School celebrates ribbon-cutting for new buildings

ROUGH ROCK, Ariz. (August 15, 2011) —Today’s formal opening of a new 58,000 square-foot academic building and 25,320 square-foot dormitory heralds a new beginning for Rough Rock Community School (RRCS) in Northern Arizona. Built in 1966 in Rough Rock, near Chinle, Ariz. and Canyon de Chelly, the school was the first Navajo-controlled school where students are taught Navajo culture alongside mainstream subjects.

The dormitory is for high school students who live in remote areas of the Navajo Nation and the academic building houses classrooms for grades K-8. Both buildings will achieve LEED Silver certification by the United States Green Building Council which oversees the internationally-recognized green building certification system. Construction of the buildings — managed by Kitchell, a Phoenix-based construction firm, and designed by Albuquerque-based, Navajo-owned Dyron Murphy Architects — included a close to 90 percent Navajo subcontractor and trade participation rate with Chee/Northstar and Free Brady among the lead Navajo subcontractors. 

The day’s events — to which all students and their families, as well as members of the local community were invited to attend — included a blessing ceremony and remarks by community and school leaders including Dr. Charles M. Roessel; RRCS Board President, Richie Nez; and RRCS Construction Project Manager, Jeremiah LaMesa, and with guest speakers Dine Education Superintendent, Andrew Tah; and Deputy Director of Office of Facilities Management and Construction, Emerson Eskeets.

“Rough Rock Community School opened its doors in 1966, and it has been the forerunner of the Indian Self-Determination Act (P.L. 93-638), as well as the Tribally Controlled School Act (P.L. 100-297).  RRCS is proud of its heritage but now looks to the future to continue its legacy.  Construction is only the first phase of this project.  The real work is when the construction is complete and the students enter to learn” stated Dr. Roessel.

The mission of Rough Rock Community School is to focus on Diné Fundamental beliefs of Knowledge, Planning, Harmony, and Hope.  The school is dedicated to educating, enlightening, motivating, challenging, and assisting in the proper cultural rearing of Navajo children so they can be self-respecting, respectful of others, speak and embrace their language and culture, and be totally functional in Anglo society.

Rough Rock Community School has approximately 440 day and residential students, including 166 high school students in grades 9 through 12.  The entire project was the first replacement school project funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. To date, Rough Rock Community School is the largest ARRA awarded Native American tribe, with a grant of $ 56 million.

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J. Reese/Kitchell joint venture and Rossin Steel top out on new cancer center

SAN DIEGO (August 8, 2011) – Sharp HealthCare officials, Makena Medical Buildings LLC; J. Reese/Kitchell joint venture and Rossin Steel announce the completion of steel erection on the new Cancer Center at Sharp Chula Vista Medical Center and Medical Office Plaza.

The facility, developed and managed by Makena Medical Buildings LLC, was designed by NTD Architects and is under construction by a joint venture of J. Reese Construction and Kitchell.   Rossin Steel Inc. ofNational Citytopped out on the erection of 380 tons of steel to complete the support structure of the building.

It measures 45,000 square feet over three stories, with the CancerCenteron the first level.  Features of the center will include patient lobby and waiting areas, exam rooms, a resource center, physician offices, conference rooms, nurse stations, CT scan rooms, and indoor and outdoor healing gardens, and one of the nation’s only radiation therapy vaults with floor-to-ceiling windows. The design includes extensive use of natural lighting, rock gardens and interior atriums to provide a comfortably soothing ambiance in waiting, exam and treatment areas. A dual entrance design is featured to provide privacy for cancer patients receiving treatments. 

The Cancer Center also includes a 2,000 square-foot  InfusionCenter, housed on the building’s second floor. Designed to care for as many as 10 patients in lounge or private room environments, theInfusionCenteralso offers a peaceful outdoor roof garden. 

The second and third floors will each feature more than 10,000 square feet of medical office space available for leasing and built to suit for each tenant. Fifty-seven percent of the building is currently leased, including leases to Sharp HealthCare tenants. The proposed medical office plaza features a unique and separate entrance from theCancerCenter. 

The new building is being constructed adjacent to the existingSharpChula VistaOutpatientSurgeryCenterand San Diego Imaging center. The construction team is mitigating disruption to utilities, traffic and pedestrian flow for the functioning center, which is open throughout construction.

SharpChula Vistais a 343-bed hospital with the largest array of health care services in southSan DiegoCounty. Home to theSouthBay’s only Community Hospital Cancer Program certified by theAmericanCollegeof Surgeons Commission on Cancer, Sharp Chula Vista also specializes in cardiac care and bloodless surgery.