Jordan High School’s auditorium renovation project—part of a decade-long masterplan to update the campus—is nearing completion, with furniture scheduled to be moved in next week.
Jordan High sits in the heart of North Long Beach alongside Houghton Park. It was constructed in the 1930s, and has since then undergone renovations in the 1950s and 1990s. Multiple phases of a large-scale facelift of the school’s buildings and exteriors began in 2014. The auditorium is part of Phase 1C and 1D, which cost $108 million, according to the Long Beach Unified School District. With the last phase scheduled for completion in 2026, the Jordan renovation is noted to cost over $200 million.
For the next several years, upgrades and renovations to buildings on campus will continue. The next key projects include the construction of new buildings set to be completed in 2022, and the modernization of the athletic field, gymnasium and pool in the winter of 2023 and 2024. The Jordan renovation is the largest and most ambitious campus renovation project ever undertaken in the city’s school district, according to the LBUSD.
David Miranda, executive director of Facilities Development and Planning at LBUSD, said the auditorium renovations took three years to complete. The updates to the auditorium were completed faster because of the COVID-19 pandemic, which kept students off campus.
“The district targeted a spring 2020 finish yet there was additional scope that we were able to take on over the past six months including painting, exterior site work, building acoustics, and seating,” Miranda said. “With no students and limited staff on site our contractors were able to expedite construction material deliveries and work on ramps and stairways that were previously not accessible due to temporary fencing.”
The biggest improvements to the high school’s auditorium include seismic upgrades, access compliance, fire and life-safety improvements and repairs to the building’s infrastructure, Miranda said. The building exterior includes aesthetic improvements that align with previous and future improvements planned on other buildings at the campus.
The Long Beach Unified Bond Twitter account posted a video slideshow showing what the auditorium will look like:
Renovation of @lbjordanhigh auditorium is near completion. Stage Manager, Dave Barclift, has been working hard to ready equipment for students' return and has provided a glimpse of what’s to come. https://t.co/faHEvm7BIP#proudtobelbusd #lbjordanhigh pic.twitter.com/TokLHjguyQ
— lbschoolbonds (@lbschoolbonds) January 5, 2021