KAI, which provided architecture, interior design, MEP/FP engineering, and construction administration on the $30 million project, reimagined the academy’s 1950s school as a college campus, in addition to adding a stand-alone high school building and 600-seat competition gymnasium to increase the academy’s total area from 55,000 to 110,000 square feet.
“The renovation and additions pay homage to the Stop Six community and celebrate the success of the young men who walk the halls of YMLA,” said KAI President Darren L. James, FAIA, NOMA. “The young men have embraced the spirit of African American poet and novelist Paul Laurence Dunbar and Reby Cary, a prominent Fort Worth native who focused on education and literacy to become the first Black professor at UTA — both of which improved themselves through the power of education. For these young men, YMLA is a part of their identity and serves as a cornerstone within their development and growth. The new facility serves as a canvas for them to imagine and create their futures for establishing a pathway to lifelong learning utilizing their inspirations as a springboard for their goals.”
Established in 2012, YMLA is Fort Worth ISD’s first single-gender school for boys offering a rigorous preparatory curriculum beginning in the sixth grade. The academy occupies a 1950s school that once housed Paul Laurence Dunbar Elementary and Junior High School. Due to the exponential growth and success of the young men that matriculated through the program, the existing facilities reached their physical limit of housing the robust program. KAI was originally selected to design a new school on an alternative site to support the academic rigor of YMLA. Upon analysis of the site, the district decided to renovate, expand, and add new buildings to the existing campus to create a collegial feel emulating the environments YMLA students will attend upon graduation.
KAI’s designers worked within the constraints of the site which fronts on a residential street and is surrounded by residential properties on all other sides to design a new, stand-alone high school building and 600-seat competition gymnasium. The new gym also includes a band room and robotics and engineering labs. The original building’s MEP/FP systems were upgraded to current standards and existing classrooms were reconfigured and repurposed for 21st century learning. KAI also designed a new public entrance and facade on the school, plus expanded the library and added collaboration spaces to support the academy’s academic curriculum.
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The Turner l Source joint venture was the Construction Manager at Risk on the project, which employed a large number of minority-owned subcontractors.
