San Francisco Unified School District to Build New Elementary School

The San Francisco Unified School District (SFUSD) recently announced that it is partnering with construction company McCarthy Building Companies, Inc. and architecture firm DLR Group to build a new elementary school in the Mission Bay neighborhood of San Francisco. The San Francisco Board of Education approved plans to build the new school at a special meeting on June 15, according to a news release.

The new Mission Bay School will serve three separate purposes: a PreK–5 elementary school with a capacity of 600 students; a STEM-focused linked learning hub for high-school students; and a professional development space for teachers and staff, according to a news release.

“The Mission Bay area has matured over the past two decades to become a hub of activity, research, community and a dynamic San Francisco neighborhood,” said McCarthy Vice President Jack Carter. “The addition of this vital piece of infrastructure will not only be a cornerstone within Mission Bay but also allows San Francisco Unified School District the opportunity to develop a school from the ground up to provide for today’s and future students.”

The new facility will cover 81,800 square feet in an eastern part of San Francisco called South Block 14. A news release reports that the burgeoning neighborhood contains major infrastructure elements like hospitals, office buildings, public parks and a college campus, but no elementary schools. The primary purpose of the school’s construction is to meet the demands of the area’s population and housing growth.

The first floor will include connections to outdoor play- and nature-based learning spaces for early learners. The second and third floors will have learning studios featuring collaboration spaces and breakout rooms for small-group study. The fourth floor’s learning hub will serve high-school students pursuing careers in industries like bioscience, health and STEM-related fields.

“The new Mission Bay School is a rare opportunity for SFUSD to design a 21st-century school from the ground up,” said Jenny Lam, San Francisco Board of Education President. “It further strengthens our commitment to each and every student in providing high-quality education and ensures they succeed in the future. We are excited to have this new school in a diverse and thriving San Francisco neighborhood where we continue to see housing growth and community development.”

The project comes with an estimated cost of $95 million and is being funded through the Proposition A 2016 Bond program approved by voters. Construction is scheduled to begin in 2023 and finish in 2025.

About the Author

Matt Jones is senior editor of Spaces4Learning. He can be reached at mjones@1105media.com.

Featured

  • Massachusetts Charter School Opens New Academic Building

    The Advanced Math and Science Academy Charter School (AMSA) in Marlborough, Mass., recently held a ribbon-cutting ceremony for a new academic building, according to a news release. The 17,000-square-foot space will serve as a classroom and science lab building for the student population of almost a thousand in grades 6–12.

  • Fort Collins to Convert 1980s Office Park into Junior High School

    The Liberty Common School, a charter-public school in Fort Collins, Colo., recently broke ground on an adaptive reuse project that will convert an 1980s-era office park into a 45,000-square-foot junior high school for seventh- and eighth-grade students, according to a news release.

  • Illinois Elementary School Breaks Ground on Campus Expansion

    Heather Hill Elementary School, part of Flossmoor School District 161 in Palatine, Ill., recently broke ground on a new addition to the school focused on student support and security, according to a news release. The district partnered with Wold Architects & Engineers for the expansion as part of a longer-term facility planning and modernization initiative.

  • College of the Desert Starts Construction on New Campus Location

    College of the Desert recently announced that it has broken ground on its new Palm Springs campus in Palm Springs, Calif., according to a news release. The multiple-building campus consists of 175,000 square feet of new construction and will cost an estimated $268 million.