The Ancon Group - Design, Renovations and Estate Management

The Open House and Ribbon Cutting Montessori Childrens House and School

The ribbon cutting and Open House was a great success. The hard work put into this by the Board members involved really paid off. In addition to the parents of currently enrolled students we were also fortunate to serve as host to alumni and their parents as well. The efforts of Board members such as Susan Cowger resulted in the news media being present to cover the attendance of City Councilman Allen as well as Dallas Mayor Leppert. Awaiting the ribbon cutting... 

 Dr. Gamino welcomed our guests and recognized one of the schools founders and earliest board members. 

 After remarks by the Mayor and City Councilman, the official ribbon cutting was celebrated. The our guests then toured the school enjoyed refreshments including Frito Lay products and a really terrific cake emblazoned with the school logo. 

On I personal note I want to thank each of the guides, the school director, the Board of Directors and Board President Jacque Gamino for the honor of having been selected to work with them on this wonderful project. It is an honor that will live with me forever.Seeing this project through from the earliest meetings in 2006 has been one of the most gratifying experiences of my life. I hope to continue to be of service to MCHS. The benefit the school provides to the lives of the boys and girls that attend is without measure and I am delighted to have contributed in a small way. 

My sincere thanks to all the great people I had the honor to meet and work alongside to build the new Montessori Childrens House and School. 

Alexander Dahlgren 

The Ancon Group

Final Chapters

While the building construction is complete, the landscaping and interior design continues. Here is a hint of the work in progress. You will see even more when classes resume after Spring Break and during the open house for students. The date and time has been sent out to all parents. This will allow the students to see their new school prior to classes resuming.

The Guide Resource Room 

 

The Directors Office

  

The Reception Room

 

The view to the South of the Hall which reinforces the woodlands motif established by our color scheme and the heirloom stained glass panels at the entrance to the BAC. All of which was inspired by the views of the Nature Area on the West side of the campus.

  

The Classroom Area Rugs

 

We will certainly post photos once the landscaping is complete. We are eager to show each of you the totally new Montessori Childrens House and School. It has been an honor to build this for the students that begin their education here on Abrams Road.

FINAL CHAPTERS

Each day we are closer and closer to completion. The parking lot is now striped, the curb stops in place and the dumpster container has been built. As you recall, in the old parking lot, we had a lot of standing water when it rained and the edges had broken away over time. Additionally, the entrance to the parking lot was constrained by the flag pole and the dumpster placement. The new enclosure for the dumpster is located at the far end of the parking lot and the flag pole has been moved to a place of honor. The movement of the dumpster now allows the security cameras full view of the parking lot and creates a much safer driving environment. 

 

The parking lot is now clean and organized. There is both an entrance and an exit which will allow for smooth movement into and out of the area.

   

The old driveway has been repaired, seal coated and the fire lane repainted. The front sidewalk now extends fully to the parking lot. It is now possible to move from cars to the building without walking in the driveway.

   

Rather than the standard single coat finish that most new VCT floors receive, we have treated the classrooms with four coats. The flooring is durable and beautiful. Jeff Everest, the office manager for The Ancon Group, visited the school today and commented "My school never looked like this! The sunlit rooms and handsome finishes will provide a great space for kids. The atmosphere is homey rather than institutional."

   

The work on the new fire hydrant made great headway today since the crew was able to work much longer hours. They are restricted to working between 9am and 2pm during the week due to the school zone. At the time I left MCHS this afternoon, the fire hydrant was being connected via 6" water lines to the City main. They will then pressure up the line and cover it in special gravel and sand, time permitting. The deadline for work today is 30 minutes prior to sunset. The trench is left unfilled and covered with the large steel plates. Monday, the crew will flush out the line and turn the project to the City of Dallas. The city will then open a valve and add concentrated cholrine to the line under pressure. This will allow to rest for one day. Tuesday is "blow out" where the line is allowed to run for about three hours via a hose into the storm sewer. The City should then collect a sample of the water from the hydrant and send it to a laboratory for testing. The new fire hydrant is a direct pathway to the drinking water supply and as such is treated with great care. Once the sample is tested and approved, the hydrant then becomes the responsiblity of another City department to approve. The approval will be noted by the painting of the hydrant. It is now red which indicates that it is 'not in service'. If everything were to go perfectly, we could have our Certificate of Occupancy by Friday. However, if a single thing were to go awry, we could be pushed back as much as a week. The work on the hiring of an engineer for the design of the new fire hydrant, the selection and hiring of the contrator for the work and the permitting of the hydrant, have all been far more complicated then the work on the actual building. The first step in the process began back in August

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I wanted to present one additional before and after set. At the time of previous post, I did not have a shot of the completed reception area. So without further ado...

 Before:

   

 And after...

   

We are eager to introduce each of you to the all new MCHS. The same wonderful education in a property to match.

FINAL CHAPTERS

They say you never want to see how sausage or political deals are made but hopefully you have enjoyed seeing how the work has progressed at MCHS. We present some 'before' and 'after' images for your enjoyment... The West wall of Miss Jeanne's Classroom before:  

 And today.

   

 The BAC Kitchen area before:

   

 And after.

   

 The computer desk in the old rear office:

   

The computer desk in the new Guide Resource Center. Notice the dedicated adult restroom. No longer is a trip through the laundry room required.  

 The old nap area under the stairs:

   

The new Nap Room which will be outfitted with blackout shades and has a sound reducing wall dividing it from the Enrichment Classroom. When needed the wall can be folded flat and allows for one large space to accommodate Adult Education and meetings.  

The former library space was shared by Enrichment Classes, the laminating machine and served as an overflow cloak room. It was the old rear office.  

The Library now will provide ample storage for an expanded book collection and cultivates the proper respect for books and how a library works.

   

The old rear office had a small amount of storage and little working counter space. This is the extent of storage previously.

   

Now, ample storage and a dedicated work area for the Guides. They will no longer be waiting to prepare materials while other meetings are being held or Enrichment Classes taught.  

The new standard in storage and kitchens for the Classrooms.  

Hand washing and drinking fountain is located between the large and well lit restrooms that are inside each class. No longer is a trip out into the hall required.  

The BAC now has a covered walkway and a private entrance for easy arrival and departure for those students that are in the program. The porch ceiling was just recently completed with two tone paint accenting the steel structure which supports the roof.

 

We have begun the placement of the bricks which acknowledge the donations to a specific MCHS program. This is at the base of the flag pole which now occupies a place of honor across from the Entry Porch

 

And finally, while we had nothing to do with it, I wanted to share this photo of a really lovely tulip tree that is now visible in the Nature Area now that the large windows on the west side have been added.