Owen‑Ames‑Kimball Company (O‑A‑K), a preeminent general contractor with a longstanding presence in Southwest Florida, hosted a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the new Lehigh Acres Elementary School on Wednesday, April 20. Amanecer (meaning sunrise in Spanish) Elementary School will be located on Sunrise Boulevard next to the Lehigh Acres Middle School. Construction began in April, and the school will be open for the first day of school in August 2023. O‑A‑K is the construction manager for the project.
Attendees included Lee County School Board members, Lee County Schools administration, elected officials and representatives from the construction team, architects, and engineers.
“Amanecer Elementary School will help us serve the rapidly-expanding population here in the East zone and prepare our children to reach their highest potential,” said Lee County School Board Member Gwynetta S. Gittens. “This is an exciting time for our community.”
“We are pleased to be a part of this project that will accommodate the rapid growth of students in Lee County,” said Matthew Zwack, president of O‑A‑K Florida. “We are proud to partner with The School District of Lee County again.”
The two-story building is a 127,745 square foot facility on 36 acres shared with Lehigh Acres Middle School. The schools will have a common access road, bus loop, and central energy plant. The campus will have 984 student stations and serve pre-k through fifth grade. The one-story building area is also designed to serve as a community hurricane shelter. The campus includes a covered play area and sports courts. In addition, it will have updated security measures, including a single point of entry access control and upgraded hardware on all classroom doors.
The O‑A‑K project manager is Alesha Watchowski, and the site superintendent is Tim Harkins. Ryan Propp is the director of field operations. Abel Natali is the director of preconstruction. The project architect is ADG Architecture, LLC. Johnson Engineering is the civil engineer, and TLC Engineering Solutions is the mechanical, electrical, and plumbing engineer. The structural engineer is TRC Worldwide Engineering.
An employee-owned company, O‑A‑K Florida, Inc.’s Board of Directors comprises members from the company’s Florida operations. Owen‑Ames‑Kimball Company has provided premier general contracting, design-build, and construction management services in Southwest Florida since 1982.
O‑A‑K’s Florida operation is an affiliate of its parent company located in Grand Rapids, Michigan. The Florida operation has offices in Collier and Lee counties. Its Lee County office is located at 11941 Fairway Lakes Drive in Fort Myers. Learn more about O‑A‑K at www.owen‑ames‑kimball.com.
We are pleased to be a part of this project that will accommodate the rapid growth of students in Lee County. We are proud to partner with The School District of Lee County again. - Matthew Zwack, president of O‑A‑K Florida
