Tolleson board favors ‘River Nexus’ design for new high school after DLR workshop

Tolleson Union High School District trustees heard three architectural concepts for the district’s planned eighth high school on a special study session and indicated unanimous support for the River Nexus concept, designers and board members said.

The DLR Group design team, working with consultants including Root Architects and Chase (construction manager), presented three distinct campus concepts — “Arroyo,” “Cactus Petals,” and “River Nexus” — after a year of visioning, student engagement and community surveys. The board and design team described the vote as direction to proceed with detailed schematic design of the River Nexus option rather than a formal ordinance-level decision.

Designers said the concepts incorporated feedback from teachers, staff and students gathered through visioning sessions, a photo-voice assignment and a community survey. Those engagement activities prioritized natural light, flexible learning spaces, connections to nature, and CTE (career and technical education) opportunities, the team said.

The DLR presentation emphasized a phased schedule meant to keep the project on track for an anticipated 2027 opening for freshmen and sophomores. “Over the next 9 months or so, we’re going to be spending about $100,000 a week in all the engineering, architecture, all those sorts of things because this is a really awesome big project,” Carmen of DLR Group told the board when describing the schedule and next steps.

DLR described each option as a two-story scheme with neutral materials and accent colors, programmed outdoor courts and an emphasis on shading and thermal comfort. The Arroyo concept emphasized a curving, sculpted campus and integrated performing arts; the Cactus Petals concept organized the campus as three linked ‘‘petals’’ with elevated, shaded exterior terraces; River Nexus emphasized a central courtyard and a “learning bridge” connecting programs with clear lines of travel and opportunities for CTE displays and outdoor learning.

Board members and site leaders raised practical concerns during the review, including stairway pinch points and circulation during passing periods, site parking and drop-off layout, visibility for campus supervision, and opportunities for solar installations on peaked roof forms. “If you were to stand in the center, either on this floor or this floor, you would be able to see full access from one position,” the DLR team said when addressing supervision and sightlines. Designers also noted that some roof forms in the River Nexus scheme would permit a larger area for solar panels compared with a more rounded stadium roof.

Several trustees said student experience and clarity of circulation led them to prefer River Nexus. “I’m okay with one and three, but I’m going to lean towards 3 because I’m looking at the students’ perspective,” one trustee said during the discussion. At the end of the workshop the board’s consensus favored River Nexus; the designers will return with more detailed schematic plans, sustainability options and pricing input from Chase.

The board did not adopt a final contract or guaranteed maximum price at the workshop. DLR and Chase will next develop schematic designs, sustainability refinements and high-level cost estimates to present in future workshops; the team said construction documents and the guaranteed maximum price (GMP) will come later in the process.

The district and design team emphasized continued stakeholder involvement in design development: the next design-development phase will bring teachers — notably art and science instructors — into detailed classroom planning, and subsequent workshops will present finishes and materials for board review.

What’s next: DLR will move the chosen concept into schematic design, work with Chase on early cost estimating, and return to the board for targeted feedback on sustainability goals, floor plans and materials prior to preparing construction documents and a GMP.