Edmond school projects are in various design stages
EDMOND — Three major Edmond school building projects, budgeted from this year's bond package, have been approved by the school board.
Work at Edmond Memorial High School, Central Middle School and Northern Hills Elementary is part of a $111 million school bond issue approved in February.
The completion dates are still months and years away. The board last week hired the Stacy Group architects of Edmond to design an enlarged Memorial stadium and new track facility to the north of the school off 15th Street.
The district appointed a committee to review architects. Christina Hoehn, chief operations officer, said the panel narrowed six proposals to a few finalists before recommending the Stacy Group.
The Stacy Group will work on plans to enlarge the Memorial stadium to host varsity football games. A smaller track facility with bleachers will be built across the street.
Hoehn said the Stacy Group will work on designs for six months. Bidding for the actual work won't be until 2018. The stadium is expected to open in fall 2019.
The board has approved what Superintendent Bret Towne called schematic design concepts for work at Central Middle School. That school, on Ninth Street between Bryant and Boulevard, will receive a new storm shelter and gymnasium addition. There will be a STEM classroom area and two new science labs at the front of the building, and a new entrance and reception area. Hoehn is expecting plans to be complete in December. The price tag will be an estimated $4 million.
Northern Hills schematic design concepts were approved. That campus will add a shelter that will double as a multipurpose classroom, with music laboratories. Principal Michele Milner said having the music laboratories there will be advantageous because it will be a soundproof area.
"That will help during testing time," she told the board.
Milner said the basement of the school, which is the current storm shelter, also will be upgraded. Hoehn listed the cost of the work at Northern Hills at $3 million. She expects bidding for the work to start in November.
A project involving a water leak at Memorial has been repaired for less than originally projected. On July 31, the board approved spending nearly $34,000 to fix a leak under the stadium. District spokesperson Susan Parks Schlepp said it was not necessary for crews to replace the entire line. A portion of the line was replaced for less than $10,000.