By Kimberly Boyd, Assistant Head of School for Finance and Operations
It has been another busy summer at Park! Even as we hosted Summer at Park and Creative Arts at Park camps, we advanced exciting projects that will transform student experience in important ways. Here’s what we’ve been working on….
WEST BUILDING UPDATES
Building upon the momentum of last summer, the construction team from J Calnan and Associates came back to campus to update the third floor of the West Building, which Grade 7 now calls home. Students can look forward to a fully equipped collaboration space and new hallway connective areas. It’s amazing what a difference lighting, paint, and woodwork can do to a space! This space is 85% done and will be 100% ready by the time faculty and students return!
MAIN BUILDING PROJECTS
In the Main Building, there are a number of moving pieces to our plans this summer. By moving the Woodshop from the third floor to the first floor adjacent to the Makerspace, we are creating a Maker Wing, and are excited about all the new opportunities for collaboration this will support. The new Woodshop provides lots of natural light and ample space to work in.
On the third floor, we are constructing three large science classrooms and an art studio in the space formerly occupied by the Woodshop and two science classrooms. Framing and drywall is complete, and we are eagerly awaiting the installation of the exterior floor to ceiling windows that are expected to arrive this week. This space is 50% done and will be ready just in time for the start of the school year!
NEW ELEVATOR
On the west side of the Main Building, construction of an elevator tower is underway. A project of this scale, bringing centralized access to every floor, is a huge project. Work began in March and will continue through the fall with an anticipated completion date in November. The steel framing is complete, openings in the building have been created to connect the new elevator to the building, and the concrete floors have been poured on each level. Still, there is still a lot of work to be done, and we will all watch in anticipation for the added level of accessibility the elevator will bring to the school.
OUTDOOR PROJECTS
The turf field is coming along well. The many levels of stone that support the drainage system are being tested this week, and we anticipate that the turf carpet will be laid the week of August 15th. Fun fact: all water drainage on campus flows to the pond behind the Pond Field and the water collected there irrigates the entire campus. The turf field’s drainage is tied into this existing system, further enhancing our ability to make good use of water resources.
Adjacent to the turf field at the PreK playground, a sandbox and new swing sets are under construction. Once the construction team of David W. White and Son complete these projects, they will lay the groundwork for the outdoor high and low ropes course that will be installed this fall.
We expect the field to be ready for student use on the first day of school with landscaping continuing beyond the first day, and for the ropes course to be installed prior to the cold months ready for spring use by students.