Financial instruments known as Time Warrants have been available to Texas public schools since 1995, however their flexibility for use in construction projects was limited due to their $500,000 maximum loan amounts and terms that were restricted to no more than five years. Now that’s all changed, thanks to the efforts of Southlake, Texas-based Government Capital Corporation and the Texas Rural Education Association. (more…)
Ramtech has released a new video that highlights the recently completed modular construction of the instructional and support facilities for the West (TX) ISD’s replacement middle and high school campus. Narrated by Dr. Marty Crawford, the District’s superintendent of schools, the video highlights the modular school buildings that are located on the West Middle School site which was destroyed by the massive fertilizer plant explosion on April 17 of last year. (more…)
As Ramtech begins to see more and more projects that are requiring LEED certification and sophisticated sustainability requirements, we have begun the process of developing an informational guide around sustainable construction alternatives that can aid public school districts in their decision-making process when planning for permanent school expansions. Planned during the first quarter of 2014, Ramtech’s Green Benefits guide will help educate schools on the efficiencies of using sustainable construction techniques that can be realized through the use of permanent modular construction like Ramtech’s highly adaptable Accelerated Building System process. Recognized by the Modular Building Institute, the trade association that represents the commercial modular building industry in promoting permanent modular construction across a wide variety of industries for public, private, and institutional applications, the Green Benefits advantages provide for sustainability through:
- Less material waste using pre-fabrication in order to make it possible to optimize construction material purchases while minimizing the on-site waste caused by weather related damages.
- Less site disturbances since the modular structure is constructed simultaneously off-site while the foundation and other site work takes place, thereby reducing the time and impact on the surrounding site environment including reducing the number of vehicles and equipment needed.
- The off-site construction which helps eliminate the hazards associated with materials, equipment and incomplete construction processes that are typical of construction sites that can attract curious and unwelcome “visitors” (i.e. students on a school expansion project).
- An adaptability inherent in modular buildings which are frequently designed to quickly add or remove one or more “modules” minimizing the disruptions to adjacent buildings and surroundings.
Ramtech has released a new promotional video that highlights a five-classroom relocatable modular building recently designed, manufactured, and constructed for Annunciation Orthodox School in Houston, TX. The new 6,400 square foot facility allowed Annunciation Orthodox to relocate their existing pre-K program from an older facility to the new modular school building as part of the private school’s long-range master plan. The modular construction project required the demolition of an existing building adjacent to the main campus structure which had been used as a storage facility for several years.
Ramtech has released an additional video testimonial that highlights the design, manufacture, and construction of an eight-classroom modular building recently built for the Hico Independent School District in Hico, TX. (more…)