|
A PEEK AT THE VICTORIA ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
PROPOSED TO OPEN IN THE FALL OF 2005
Drawings and sketches of the pro-posed Victoria Elementary School were presented to Victoria councilmembers on March 25th along with other data and in-formation. Bev Stofferahn, District 112 School Superintendent, was in attendance. Steve Miller, architect with RMA, pointed out highlights and facts.
City Planner Mark Kaltsas introduced the project. "This is all stemming from the earlier approval of the Master Plan," he said, referring to the plan for the area of Laketown Township that will soon be annexed to the City of Victoria."
The school location is just south of Deer Run and Lake Wasserman. A new road called Redfox Drive will traverse the northern perimeter of the school property. Carriage Drive, a road that comes south out of Deer Run, will meet Redfox Drive.
He said the school and city will be sharing close to 30 acres of property for the project. The school district will own the 9.72 acres on which the building will be located. The city will own the 17.2 acres of property surrounding the building.
Defined as "active parkland," the 17.2 acres will include a softball field, a baseball field, two full size multi-purpose fields for activities such as soccer, and a hill in the back that could possibly be used for sledding.
According to City Planner Lisa Krause, the school district will be respon-sible for the installation of the fields, while the city will be responsible for their maintenance.
Stated Mark, "Collaboration allows shared facilities and shared parking."
"We've been thinking about this since last spring, since before the school referendum," said Architect Steve Miller. "Approximately ten acres are dedicated to the school and 17 acres to the parkland. There's a major collector road, a primary ciculator road, a lot of tree cover on the east side, a great view to the northwest."
"It's beneficial to do a two-story building," he said. "You could actually call it a walkout. The other two recent [District 112] schools are one-story. Jonathan Elementary is a two-story."
The bottom level consists of 28,909 square feet. The top level consists of 59,180 square feet. A "penthouse" on the very top consists of 6,511 square feet for utility apparatus.
"There are 150 parking spaces in front of the school, more than needed by staff," he said. "It also provides parking for the ballfields. Automobile traffic in front is totally separate from the bus traffic in back."
The architect explained that the Vic-toria school will consist of five clusters, one for each of the five elementary grades for a total of 625 students. Each of the clusters appears to contain five class-rooms clustered around a "team center."
The smaller bottom level will house three of the clusters. The larger top level will house two of the clusters plus a large library, media, computer center, a two-court gymnasium, art and music class-rooms, cafeteria, kitchen facilities, front office space, and an Early Childhood Wing that could possibly become a kindergarten site.
Stated Superintendent Stofferahn in regard to a question from Councilmember Mary Thun, "Every precaution is being taken to promote safety of students and staff." Identification badges will be re-quired for those entering the building and there is a good line of sight to show all those who are entering the building.
The architect said that construction is proposed to begin in May 2004 with a completion date of June 2005 in time for a fall 2005 occupancy.
Exterior of the building will include a dark red brick, metal panels above the windows, and precast concrete that ap-pears like stone for the gymnasium. "It will be a little less colorful than Clover Ridge Elementary," said the architect.
Stated Mayor Jerry Bohn, "It's excit-ing to see the plans. I appreciate the fewer colors. It'll be exciting to have an operating elementary school in Victoria."
Click here for more City Scoop.
|
|
