District Wide Elementary School Renovations

The Warren Consolidated School District passed a $115 million bond issue in 2001 with the purpose of making district-wide improvements to their buildings. The areas of focus included ensuring the buildings adequately supported current educational delivery methodologies, providing additional multi-functional spaces, introducing passive security measures at the entry points of the facilities, replacing mechanical and electrical systems throughout, enhancing building’s exterior envelope and creating separate and safe site circulation zones.

There were common project goals for each of the elementary schools, which are described in the following:

• The existing elementary schools lacked a clear, distinguishable expression for the building’s point of entry. One of the district’s goals was to attract new interest for visitors and convey a positive first impression that was fresh and inviting. The design response wanted to be a unique expression that created a cohesive image for the school district.
• As the topic of child safety and school security became more important to parents, the district desired to control the incoming and outgoing people from their school buildings. This goal is impossible to accomplish without direct supervision of the building’s point of entry as well as a secured entry lobby that prevents entry into the building without the acknowledgment of the building’s personnel. This secured entry lobby also provides the children a place to safely wait for their parent to arrive.
• Many of the building sites required an evaluation of the existing pedestrian and traffic patterns to identify unsafe conditions. At times of high traffic, there are many elements arriving and departing at the same time such as buses, parents and staff. Our goal was to create safe navigation to the play spaces, the parking lots and the building’s point of entry. This often required that we design separated parking lots for the parents and buses, while still being functionally connected and conveying an inviting appearance.
• The existing buildings had a Multi-Purpose Room which served as both a gymnasium and a cafeteria. The district desired to change that by adding a new gymnasium addition to each of the elementary schools. The gymnasium design had to incorporate ADA toilet rooms, an office for an athletic instructor and ancillary storage. The layout had to be efficient and incorporated into the new building entrances. The design for the new gymnasium also responded to the district goal of re-identification by developing a new “district brand” of architecture that partially covered and harmonized with the existing building.
• Renovation of the remaining spaces included a major renovation of the administrative offices, an updated media center space, new ceilings and floor finishes throughout, as well as HVAC and lighting upgrades throughout the building. The HVAC and lighting upgrades are coordinated with a new building energy management system. This provides the district with secure, remote access to control the mechanical and electrical functions of each of the buildings from any computer that has internet access. This ability to remote access allows the district administration to more closely monitor and control operational expenses.

A summary of completed projects are as follows:

• Pearl Lean Elementary School

  Cost: $3,400,000
  Size: 68,000sf (53,300 Renovation / 14,700 Addition)

• Jefferson Elementary School

  Cost: $2,250,000
  Size: 47,600sf (42,300 Renovation / 5,300 Addition)

• Holden Elementary School

  Cost: $2,300,000
  Size: 47,600sf (42,300 Renovation / 5,300 Addition)

• Cromie Elementary School

  Cost: $3,200,000
  Size: 68,700sf (62,000 Renovation / 6,700 Addition)

• Wilkerson Elementary School

  Cost: $2,775,000
  Size: 47,900sf (42,300 Renovation / 5,600 Addition)

• William A. Pfromm Educational Center

  Cost: $550,000
  Size: 21,200sf (20,000 Renovation / 1,200 Addition)

The PARTNERS Core Team also completed (11) eleven other elementary school renovation / additions projects for Warren Consolidated Schools while employed at another firm. The projects are as follows: Angus Elementary ($2,400,000), Willow Woods Elementary ($2,400,000), Black Elementary ($2,600,000), Wilde Elementary ($3,100,000), Fillmore Elementary ($2,600,000), Susick Elementary ($2,800,000), Siersma Elementary ($2,800,000), Harwood Elementary ($75,000), Hatherly Elementary ($80,000), Wilkerson (4) Classroom Addition ($600,000), Siersma (4) Classroom Addition ($550,000).

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