City, district, and community leaders come to celebrate the beginning of construction
The new Malibu High School is underway.
The public was invited to celebrate the beginning of construction of a new high-tech, educational space that will be for future high school students in Malibu. Santa Monica Malibu Unified School District, City of Malibu staff, contractors, and those who were involved with the project all gathered at what is currently an empty dirt lot to celebrate with a groundbreaking ceremony on Monday, Oct. 30.
Malibu High School Principal Patrick Miller introduced the speakers, thanked everyone for attending the ceremony, but also acknowledged what used to take place on the property for 64 years.
“From 1955 [until] 2019, Juan Cabrillo Elementary School was home to generations of Malibu youth,” Miller said. “Like all elementary schools, Juan Cabrillo was where students made lifelong friendships, played games, learned to read, developed a range of school skills, it was school. Cabrillo was so much more, it was different, it was special, it was a true community, it was a place where kindness and empathy were as important as literacy numerously, it was a place where joy was cultivated, the arts, theatre, music, family involvement, special events, and traditions were all apart of it.
“So now we look more with the excitement and optimism of the new Malibu High School.”
The demolition of the former Juan Cabrillo facility cleared the way for construction. Additionally, all hazardous materials, including polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), that have been an issue for the past decade have been removed from the site.
City Manager Steve McClary and Councilmembers Paul Grisanti and Marianne Riggins were among those in attendance.
“I’m looking forward to the memories our graduates will create in this new space, the new traditions our staff and families will develop in this new building, and to watching it, too, become a place not only of learning and innovation but also one of collaboration, community, joy, kindness, and empathy,” Miller said.
The new building spans more than 70,000 square feet and will include general classrooms, art classrooms, special education facilities, science, technology, engineering, and math classrooms, campus food services (with separate spaces for the middle school), a library, and high school administrative offices.
Phase one of the new Malibu campus plan is designed to offer a 21st-century learning environment and provide progressive educational spaces for Malibu students. The building’s design harmonizes with Malibu’s coastal community aesthetics, and offers a more seamless blend into its beautiful surroundings. This phase will also lead to the separation of Malibu Middle School from the high school.
Students will have access to an adaptable, spacious, light-filled, double-height commons area that opens to the outdoors, encouraging social connection, dining, collaboration, and private study. The innovative design incorporates concrete and copper-clad walls that draw inspiration from the natural surroundings, fostering a strong connection between indoor and outdoor spaces. Photovoltaic panels on the overhead canopy will provide both shade for students and contribute to energy conservation.
SMMUSD Chief Operations Officer Carey Upton said they will be restoring the environmentally sensitive habitat area but also shared the challenges the project overcame.
“We are going to be restoring that and bringing it back in a few different phases, both to be used and experienced by our community but also be used by our students as a teaching and learning facility,” Upton said. “Getting here was a challenge, I remember as we had when we had our first meeting, which was around the first few days of the Woolsey Fire, and just before the election in 2018 that passed Measure M, and it was a start. Through that, we developed the campus plan and started designing and developing the first building in this first phase.”
Malibu board member Stacy Rouse acknowledged the other board members but asked everyone to take a moment to recognize this moment.
“This does not happen without community not one of us can do it alone and we have the experience, the bumps and the bruises to prove it,” Rouse said. “We are here, we’re not done yet, [but] I think this is a really big deal, this is just incredible.”
SMMUSD Superintendent Dr. Antonio Shelton said the new school will provide an environment for students to learn, grow, and feel safe with a sense of belonging.
“I want to say cheers to this community for making this happen,” Shelton said. “I think oftentimes, kids come into a space and don’t know where they fit — I know that we will build a school where they will know where they fit.”
Approved by Malibu voters in 2018, the project is scheduled to be completed by the fall of 2025. Phase 1 of construction is estimated to cost $110 million. NAC Architecture is collaborating with Koning Eizenberg Architecture, and C.W. Driver Companies is the contractor overseeing the project.
“Thank you again for the ongoing support; without the support of the community, we would not be here today,” Shelton said. “Standing in front of what will be a new and amazing facility for our students. We will have a future generation that will graduate from the future high school that sits right here, that’s something to cheer about. Let’s continue to do what’s right for our students.”