GPISD Petitions to Further Investigate PBK Architects, Inc

A North Texas school district wants to know if the same company that designed the now closed Allen football stadium is behind problems with their buildings.

The nearly $60 million Allen football stadium closed two years after opening. Engineering experts said the stadiums' cracks were caused by problems in the structural design.

That structural design was made by PBK Architects, Inc., the same company that designed two of Grand Prairie Independent School District's campuses — Juan M. Seguin Elementary School and Ronald W. Reagan Middle School.

Both schools sit on top of a type of soil that could be difficult to build on. In documents filed for a deposition, the GPISD stated they shared that information with PBK Architects. In the filing, the school district also stated that shifting soil caused foundation problems to leading leaks in both schools, costing the district about $4 million to fix.

GPISD issued a statement saying that the two problems were detected and resolved back in 2009 and 2012. They said the petition comes after a lengthy review in an effort to hold the responsible contractors accountable.

The school district wants a bigger review from those people who worked directly on the project. A hearing on this petition is expected to take place next month.

PBK issued the following statement:

"PBK designed Reagan Middle School and Seguin Elementary School over 10 years ago in strict compliance with the recommendations outlined in the geotechnical engineers soils report provided to PBK by the Grand Prairie ISD.

The repairs made at these schools were not structural in nature.  The repairs made to under-slab plumbing lines damaged due to the soil expanding beyond the criteria outlined in the geotechnical soils report provided to PBK by the GPISD."

Contact Us