Swinerton has wrapped up construction on the new $232 million Compton High School, delivering a modern 31-acre campus that will serve 1,800 students in the Compton Unified School District.

The milestone comes after nearly six years of work, which began in 2019 with the demolition of the district’s 126-year-old original campus.

The project includes a significant community contribution: a $10 million donation from music producer and Compton native Andre “Dr. Dre” Young, which funded the school’s state-of-the-art Andre “Dr. Dre” Young Performing Arts Center.

A Modern Campus for Compton

The new campus boasts a wide array of facilities, including:

• A 140,639-square-foot academic building with collaborative, tech-enabled classrooms.
• A 40,868-square-foot performing arts center.
• A 36,534-square-foot gymnasium.
• A digital-first library with no physical books.
• Athletics facilities such as a football stadium, baseball, softball and soccer fields, basketball and tennis courts, and a half-sized Olympic swimming pool.
• Covered outdoor spaces and native California landscaping.

The campus was designed by DLR Group and project managed by Cumming Group.

Local Impact and Innovation

Swinerton reported that the job required about 720,000 workhours, with nearly 200 workers on site daily. Over 60% of the workforce was local, nearly doubling the firm’s initial 35% target.

Technology also played a key role. Swinerton used drones during the earthwork phase to track progress and confirm grading quantities, and employed building information modeling (BIM) to coordinate structural and MEP systems, reducing conflicts before fabrication and installation.

Funding and Community Investment

The project was funded by a 2015 voter-approved bond measure and is part of the district’s “Built by Compton” initiative, which emphasizes local hiring and small business participation.

For the district, the new high school represents both a cultural and educational investment — blending community pride with modern learning environments to better prepare students for college, careers, and the arts.

Originally reported by Matthew Thibault in Construction Dive.