Planning for the construction of the new Hillcrest and Medary elementary schools has involved consideration from parents, teachers, faculty, and city officials and those within the Brookings School District. Those collaborations are coming together, as seen during a presentation by Architecture Inc. principal architects Steve Jastram, Lauren Deshler and Mitchell Aldinger.
School Board President Keli Books reminded the public that the construction projects won’t halt the school year at all for either elementary school.
“This is going to be a great place to learn,”Jastram said before presenting the blueprints and exterior design mockups Architecture Inc. developed to the school board. Jastram added that in the case of Hillcrest, working with the city has been a part of the process regarding land usage, considering the new property line extends slightly farther north of the current line.
“As a point of reference, because there are property lines that are defined between Hillcrest Park and the school district property, there have been some conversations and discussions with the city as well through this entire process,” said superintendent Klint Willert. “And as we’ve had those discussions, the city has been very amicable to work with the school district to address current as well as projected future facility needs, and the space we might need in terms of a footprint and the land to provide for those needs. We have had and continue to have discussions with the city about doing some sort of inter-governmental transfer of land to accommodate those needs and as we get to the final iteration of the footprint, taking into account our current needs as well as those of the future, we’ll have further discussion and action by the city as well as the school district to execute that transfer.” Willert noted that although a transfer encompasses part of a city parking lot, the creation of new plat work would not be a part of that transfer.
“Again, we’re just really thankful for the partnership and collaboration that we have with the city of Brookings. It’s something that we can pride ourselves on, and I think it’s something that will serve our district as well as the city going forward for many, many years to come,” Willert said.
Jastram further added that the only part of the school that will be developed on city property is a playground area on the north side of the school. It will be one of two playgrounds, with the second being on the south side along Thirdrd Street. The north playground “is a shared playground space with the park and the school,” Jastram said. Once the new school is completed, the old school will be demolished, and the remaining space will serve as a green playground space.
Deshler explained that the exterior design of Hillcrest was greatly inspired by Hillcrest Park and the surrounding neighborhood. “One of the goals was to make this (school) feel like it fits into the park, which several design elements we used were rounded canopies with the angled columns,” she said, adding that red metal panels as an accent help indicate the entrance to the Brookings.
“I know it’s a fun thing to think about where kids are going to play around these buildings,”Books said. “Those pieces will be worked on by playground committees… It is something we really care about, and we’ll make sure that we’re thinking about it in collaboration with the city and our teachers.”
Other features of the Hillcrest Elementary rebuild include four classroom neighborhoods consisting of five classrooms each to encourage collaboration, storm shelters in central areas amid the classrooms, a parent drop-off loop, exterior classroom space, separate bus and parent drop-off locations, a serving kitchen with space to add on a full kitchen in the future, locker vestibules that will help avoid tracking mud and snow into the school, and an early childhood education wing and other learning support spaces.
When addressing the plans for Medary’s refurbishing and construction, Jastram said the current gymnasium will be used as the new student commons area and lunchroom with a new prep kitchen and serving kitchen adjacent to the new entrance on the east side of the building.
“The facilities committee has decided to build a second community room, which is just like the room we are sitting in here… today that you can use for board meetings as well,” said Jastram, adding that the community room will also utilize renovated space.
“We’re going to be able to build on the west and south side of the existing school while they have (class) inside the existing building,” Jastram said. The parts of the building that are not being reused, once demolished, will become the new parking lot and drop-off areas.
In regard to exterior design, Deshler said inspiration was drawn from Brookings High School’s appearance due to the proximity of the two schools. “You’ll see much more tan brick on this one… and some metal panels that will accent that very nicely and match with the high school as well.” Deshler added that an angled roof and the continued use of red metal panels at the main entry tie the schools together. The school will also feature clear signage on the newly built gymnasium near the intersection of Seventh Avenue and Fifth Street South, since it’s a busier street.
Books noted that some changes are likely on 5th Street South. “We will probably be eliminating that mid-block crosswalk… We’ve talked to the city quite a bit. That’s not a super safe stop sign as it sits right now, and so… the cross streets of Seventh Avenue and Fifth Street South, you’ll probably see that becoming a four-way stop then. And that will be where kids can cross the street to walk to school as well.”
The new Medary Elementary will feature similar aspects to the Hillcrest rebuild, including separate bus and parent drop-off locations, a playground to the south of the new construction, exterior classroom space, four classroom neighborhoods consisting of five classrooms each to encourage collaboration, storm shelters in central areas amid the classrooms, and an early childhood education wing and other learning support spaces.
“We are obviously being very cognizant of ensuring that there’s family-friendly spaces, family engagement, and those types of things,” Willert said in closing. “We are doing our due diligence to ensure that we are being very thorough and ensuring that these are family-friendly, child-friendly spaces. Going back to what Steve articulated early on that these are great places to learn. So… (we’re) just really happy that we have partners across our community and across the state that are willing to weigh in and give us some feedback that really has been invaluable as we’ve continued this progress together.”
