Building Solutions Open Call for Nominations

Building Solutions Announces an Open Call for PreK-12 Schools Across the Dallas-Fort Worth Region to Nominate their Campus for the “Building Solutions for Brighter Futures” Program

To champion successful and inclusive learning environments for every Dallas-Fort Worth scholar, the real estate and facilities leader opens submissions for school facilities assessments at no cost to identify inequities in school facilities and help education leaders plan for critical improvements.

DALLAS, (December 16, 2020) -- Building Solutions, a national real estate advisor for facility assessments and capital projects, today announces an open call for nominations for their “Building Solutions for Brighter Futures” education equity program. As a part of the initiative, the company will donate 3,000 hours to 30 different schools in the North Texas area. An allocation of that time will be focused on facility equity assessments of participating prekindergarten to 12th-grade schools to help identify critical deficiencies in their facilities and operating practices that impact health and learning.

Each assessment will include a one-day site observation, where educational facilities will be reviewed to determine their conduciveness to learning, along with an evaluation of major building systems, such as plumbing, HVAC, electrical, interiors, exteriors, and mobility access. The assessment will also forecast a three-year projection of its immediate needs. Once the facility equity assessments conclude, Building Solutions will meet with participating schools to discuss common findings and share operational best practices to help schools improve and better plan their facilities management. In addition, the program will include a mentorship program for facility leaders and staff, where Building Solutions will share expertise, resources, and tools to help maintain and create equitable learning environments.

“In many schools, education spaces are oftentimes not supportive of teaching and learning. For example, health is a basic consideration for an adequate learning space and the COVID-19 crisis has shown that many schools have poor indoor air quality that’s greatly affecting students’ ability to learn,” said Bill Keslar, CEO of Building Solutions. “To create environments that support teaching and learning, facilities maintenance and basic upkeep need to be prioritized. Through our ‘Building Solutions for Brighter Futures’ program, we want to help schools identify achievable improvements, even in a budget-sensitive climate, while raising awareness of the importance of equity in school facilities and the significance of facilities management.”

The “Building Solutions for Brighter Futures” program is open to all school types, including public, charter, private, and parochial. The building nominated must be at least 10 years old, used for educational activities for students in prekindergarten to 12th grade, and in the Dallas-Fort Worth region. The nomination period begins today and closes on Friday, January 15, 2021 at 11:59 p.m. CT. Applications received by the deadline will be reviewed and up to 30 schools that meet the qualifications will be accepted into the program. If more than 30 qualified schools apply, Building Solutions will select 30 by lottery.

“School facilities play a significant role in enhancing learning environments, improving school culture, and supporting better educational outcomes,” said Dennis Palmer, Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of Building Solutions. “Schools with a facility plan are in a better position and can be better prepared when challenges arise, and we hope our work will bring awareness to the importance of building management and help schools be better equipped to address their facility needs.”

To commemorate their 30th anniversary, Building Solutions announced in October their “Building Solutions for Brighter Futures” campaign, which aims to foster improvements to schools in under-resourced communities and help achieve better outcomes for all PreK-12 students in the Dallas-Fort Worth region. Along with the company’s donation of time and facility equity assessments of 30 schools in the area, the campaign also seeks to create an advocacy committee with fundraising and policy goals to help North Texas schools make the necessary improvements identified by the assessments, long after the campaign ends. In addition, the program will include a mentorship program for facility leaders and staff in hopes to elevate school facilities management and empower facilities leaders. Additionally, Building Solutions will host a series of conversations with education and business leaders to discuss topics related to educational equity. Once the campaign concludes, Building Solutions will issue an impact report, wrapping up the findings from the facility equity assessments and key learnings from the campaign in hopes to model how such a focus on facilities should be applied to schools across the country.

To nominate a school, please complete the form at buildingsolns.com/30th.

About Building Solutions

Building Solutions is a strategic technical advisor to real estate owners, operators, and investors providing facility condition assessments and capital needs forecasts, project management of building development, and consulting to building operators to improve efficiency, environmental sustainability, health, and regulatory compliance. The company serves institutional, non-profit, and for-profit real estate investors and developers. For more information, please visit buildingsolns.com.

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Media Contact:

Elizabeth Chow

elizabeth.chow@projectmockingbird.com