Over the years, we have been fortunate to work with many school divisions, boards, trustees, facility managers, principals and staffs. We are extremely proud to have worked on 90% of the schools in Medicine Hat for SD76, Medicine Hat Catholic Board of Education, & Prairie Rose School Division as well as numerous projects for Medicine Hat College both big and small. We have also completed many projects on schools in Brooks, Bow Island, and Coalhurst. We feel fortunate to have been a part of enhancing the educational facilities for the youth of Medicine Hat and area. It has been an honour to walk into almost any school in Medicine Hat and know we’ve contributed to improvements in a place of learning.
Most of the projects were completed during the academic school year. Work was scheduled around the school activities and students. Safety of students, and teachers and school personnel was the of the utmost importance. Certain scopes of work were needed to be scheduled after hours and on weekends when required.

Below is a brief summary of some of the school projects we’ve completed.

Medicine Hat College

Addition. The F-Wing Building: Wahl Construction Ltd. was the only Medicine Hat firm to qualify in order to submit a tender. We then submitted our tender along with 4 out of town contractors and we submitted the low tender and were awarded the contract.

The project consisted of a new 2 storey addition to the existing college. The project was a concrete, steel, with brick veneer building with extensive glazing. The project also entailed extensive millwork as well as a large area of hard and soft landscaping. During construction there were 89 change orders issued to cover additional work requested. A large portion of this work was completed during evenings and weekends in order to not affect the college staff and students.

Medicine Hat College – Power Engineering Technology Centre

Medicine Hat College – New Front Entrance & Core Expansion/Renovation

Medicine Hat College – T Wing Upgrade

Medicine Hat College – S & L Wing Upgrades

Medicine Hat College – Teaching Garden

Medicine Hat College - Cafeteria

Eagle Butte High

Addition & Renovation. This project consisted of the renovation of the entire existing school including all new classrooms, washrooms, gathering spaces inside the school as well as all new exterior finishes; windows, complete building envelope, as well as a new CTS two-story shop area and extensive site work. Development of a new septic field and solar energy project.

Eagle Butte High School is located in the hamlet of Dunmore which is approximately 10 km east of Medicine Hat. The project was designed so the new CTS shop addition would be done first and as that created more space within the school, areas of the school were vacated so they could be modernized with new classroom layouts, a foods lab, new science rooms, and washrooms.

A great deal of the work was completed over the summer break as space was very limited for moving students around once the school year started. The work started with the 4,000 sq. ft. shop addition and the balance of the project, which was the complete renovation of the school, was done through summer as well as working with the school through the school year to relocate classrooms as certain areas were completed in order of preference to Prairie Rose School Division #8.

Two main concerns working in the occupied Eagle Butte Highschool were the safety of staff and students at the school and minimizing the disruption of the learning and, working environments for students and staff respectively. Strategies to address these issues include the use of effective hoarding, ensuring staff and students are not exposed to unsafe materials or environments, completing separation of the students from the workers and renovation areas, maintaining a high level of site cleanliness, communicating with school staff to address concerns and questions and scheduling subcontractors around the school schedule or when the school is empty. Also, all school rules, such as not smoking on school grounds, were strictly adhered to by all workers.

Throughout the project WAHL Construction worked closely and successfully with Prairie Rose School Division #8 to minimize the inconvenience of the renovation on the school.

Work was completed in stages to accommodate the occupied school over a 1.5 year schedule. 6.9 million value - 2020

Ecole St. John Paul II.

New Build. This project involved concrete piles, grade beams, and steel structure building with concrete block and metal cladding exterior, including new aluminum doors and windows, and SBS roof. Inside has a large learning common and gathering space and classrooms. Unique finishes throughout the school. Also has a new gymnasium and portable classrooms. Ecole St John Paul II School is in an existing neighbourhood in Medicine Hat, AB. The site was a park, which created difficulties in removing irrigation, topsoil and trees while keeping the adjacent park area open.

The scope of the project is a single-story school complete with a large open 24' high student commons and gathering area. The school also includes a server, office areas, 7 classrooms in the main school including 1 raised classroom backing on to the new 5000 square foot gymnasium. The school also has 4 portable classrooms and the School Board wants to add an additional 3 portables to handle enrollment. The site includes a large parking lot with large grass areas and a playground.

Bow Island Elementary/Senator Gershaw School Bow Island

Addition & Renovation. This project comprised of a renovation and addition to the elementary and high schools in Bow Island, Alberta. It was started in November 2012 with and was fully completed in September 2015.

Bow Island Elementary was renovated first with the entire school body moving into Senator Gershaw for the duration. The renovation of Senator Gershaw School commenced after the elementary school moved back into the completed building. Senator Gershaw remained occupied during its renovation.

Throughout the project Wahl Construction worked closely and successfully with Prairie Rose School District #8 to minimize the inconvenience of the renovation on the school.

Brooks Holy Family Academy

Addition & Renovation. Because of the limited interest in this project, Wahl Construction Ltd. had to encourage many subcontractors to bid in order to get the pricing required for Alberta Infrastructure to proceed with this project.

The scope of this project is a 2-storey addition to the school complete with a large, open, 2-storey high atrium connecting the new and existing school, the renovation of various portions of the existing school, and the demolition of an old part of the existing school. Each floor of the addition is 9,500 sq.ft , consisting of classrooms, washrooms, administration area, staff room, and mechanical room. The atrium is 2,000 sq. ft and 34 ft high, filled with natural light, making it a bright space for students and staff.

Scheduling was carefully planned to minimize the impact of the project on the operations of the school, which was in session for much of the project. The addition was completed first while the school was in session. Wahl Construction Ltd. maintained a strict schedule to ensure that new addition was completed on time, to be open in time for the September 1, 2016 school year. This was done, and school and the new addition were open for the beginning of the school year.

Wahl Construction’s employees worked modified shifts from the end of the school day and into the evening. Subcontractors were scheduled to work after school or on weekends. The site was kept meticulously clean, and effective hoarding was in place to ensure that staff and students were prevented from entering the construction site.