With the start of a new calendar year, the work of NCSSM-Morganton will move forward into phase two planning efforts. We will continue advancing our educational program planning and the construction plan for our campus site. Concurrent to this work, we have developed formal requests that will be submitted to the UNC Board of Governors to support an initial allocation of recurring dollars for our NCSSM-Morganton division of the institution and an additional capital outlay to enable us to build out the full vision of phase one, option two of the master plan.

Design, Development, and Construction

The NCSSM Board of Trustees approved our CM At Risk firm for the project. Barnhill Contracting was selected as CM at risk and will arrive on site in Morganton early in 2018. We have also secured approval from the State Construction Office to proceed with phase one, option one of our master plan. Duda|Paine has launched schematic design, and that is estimated to conclude in late-spring with a deliverable that will be reviewed by the State Construction Office before transitioning to the Design Development phase of our work. Our overall timeline for the project remains on track. There will also be additional site visits during phase two of design, development and construction. These visits will be inclusive of STEM high schools and Institutions of higher education.

Educational Program

The Friday Institute completed their final phase of work in late 2017, and the next steps are to assess opportunities for advancing their work and the incredible contributions from our Core Planning Team in a manner that retains the inclusiveness and organizational support enjoyed during the advance planning phase. We will share additional detail around the organizational structure that will take shape in delivering this next phase of work in February. 

Learn more on the NCSSM-Morganton web page. 

by Kevin Baxter