Alabama Elementary School Breaks Ground on Replacement Facility

Hartselle City Schools in Hartselle, Ala., recently broke ground on a replacement facility for the oldest school in its district. The new Crestline Elementary School will cover about 105,000 square feet, cost about $36 million, and is scheduled for completion in time for the beginning of the 2024–25 school year, according to local news.

The new building will have a capacity of more than 1,000 students in grades PreK–4. The primary purpose of construction was to relieve overcrowding at the existing school; local news reports that the district has grown by more than 500 students over the last ten years. School district leaders said they expect the trend to continue as new neighborhoods with hundreds of homes continue their development.

Amenities in the new elementary school will include 65 classrooms, a separate drop-off line for PreK and special needs students, a special-needs wing featuring a sensory room, gifted education classrooms, and an expanded robotics lab.

Part of the existing Crestline Elementary building will be demolished, and part of it will remain standing as additional classroom space for the district as needed, local news reports.

“Crestline has served our school system, our students, and our community well since its original construction in the 1950s,” said school board member Daxton Maze. “As education needs change and as Hartselle continues to grow, the expanded footprint of the new school will allow us to serve our rising student population in an environment that is conducive to high-quality instruction. The scholastic expectation in Hartselle is excellence, and the new Crestline School will be a visual representation of the community’s desire to provide the best education possible for our kids.”

The school district is partnering with Davis Architects for the building’s design and with Bailey-Harris Construction Co. for the building’s construction.

About the Author

Matt Jones is senior editor of Spaces4Learning. He can be reached at [email protected].

Featured

  • DLR Group Appoints New K–12 Education Practice Leader

    Integrated design firm DLR Group recently announced that it has named its new global K–12 Education leader, Senior Principal Carmen Wyckoff, AIA, LEED AP, according to a news release. Her teams have members in all 36 of the firm’s offices in the U.S., Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Europe, and Asia.

  • UT System Board of Regents Approves $108M Housing Complex

    The University of Texas System Board of Regents recently announced the approval of a new, $108-million housing complex at the University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP), according to a news release. The facility will stand four stories and have a total of 456 new beds for freshmen students.

  • University of Kentucky Receives $150M Gift Toward New Arts District

    The University of Kentucky’s Board of Trustees recently received a $150-million gift from The Bill Gatton Foundation, according to a university news release, to build a new arts district on the campus in Lexington, Ky. The new district will feature a new College of Fine Arts building and a multi-hundred-seat theater, among other amenities.

  • textured paper collage shows a school building on fire as a fire truck sprays water into the flames

    Why a Fire Loss Is More than Flames

    We've all seen what fire damage can do to a property, but the types of damage building owners often encounter after a fire loss can exceed expectations. Having full awareness of the different forms of damage properties can sustain helps owners respond faster, reduce continued damage, and get back on the road to recovery in short order.

Digital Edition