On February 23, representatives from Bay District Schools, former and current students at A. Crawford Mosley High School, Wharton-Smith, DAG Architects, and more celebrated the ribbon cutting of the Coach Winston Chester Outdoor Education Center, a 3,500 SF classroom facility for high school seniors. See photos and video.

Coach Winston Chester, a teacher and coach at Mosley High School for over 40 years, founded the outdoor education program in 1993. The class, which started with only 12 students, has now become a rite of passage for most seniors before they graduate. The new building will allow for hands-on learning and outdoor activities in a state-of-the-art facility instead of the previous trailer, which housed the class for decades.

“I tell you, this 3,500-square-foot building would not have been possible without great workers who have come alongside partners who have helped to make this day a reality,” said Bay District Schools Superintendent Mark McQueen. “Certainly, our teammates from Wharton-Smith made this all come to reality. They’ve constructed this facility, and they did it with excellence in every way, shape, and form.”

“It has just been a pleasure working with Wharton-Smith on this project,” said Mosley High School Principal Brian Bulock. “The entire process of working with Wharton-Smith was very smooth, and their communication was great, which solved any small issue we might have had along the way.”

“The Mosley HS project is a great testament to our team’s ability to enter a new market with a new owner and architect – put together a solid plan through preconstruction and then successfully execute that plan,” said Area Manager AJ Brown. “Our project team built an addition and a new standalone structure in the middle of an active High School campus in a tight timeframe – all without any real safety, security, or quality issues. I’m impressed with our project team’s performance on this project and confident that we’ll soon be able to call Bay District Schools a repeat client based on the reputation our team built.”

Following the ribbon cutting, Tarpon Dock Seafood Market provided a fish fry, and you have to imagine those fish were caught with the skills students can learn in their new classroom. This was Wharton-Smith’s second ribbon cutting at Mosely High School, as the Dolphins Music Center, a $2.5 million, 10,000 SF expansion, opened in January.

Congratulations to the entire Wharton-Smith team who worked on this project.