Georgia District Plans K–12 Complex

The Savannah-Chatham County Public School System (SCCPSS) recently updated the public on the construction of a new K–12 Multi-School Campus in Garden City, Ga., according to local news. The facility will have the capacity for about 2,400 students and will welcome students from Groves High School, Mercer Middle School, and Gould Elementary School. The total cost of the project is about $135 million, and the district reported in March that the new campus would open for the 2023–24 academic year.

Amenities will include two gymnasiums, two cafeterias—one for high-school students and one for K–8 students—multiple media centers with both print and physical resources, and a 700-seat auditorium, according to WTOC.

“The design has a lot of really positive separation between the uses,” said David Hamilton with Charles Perry Partners, Inc. “The design lays out where…this group stays here, this group is here. It’s very well done.”

The campus will consist of four buildings, according to a district PowerPoint presentation. The K–12 building will cover 398,000 square feet and feature more than 100 classrooms, two administration suites, space for student services and counseling, an ROTC suite, and associated outdoor amenities like playgrounds and a multipurpose field. The Digital Media/CTAE Building will cover 44,000 square feet and feature CTAE labs for aviation and logistics, as well as digital media space. The Fieldhouse (33,000 square feet) and Campus Police Headquarters (23,000 square feet) will include athletic support spaces and a 3,000-seat stadium. Finally, the Athletics Complex (6,000 square feet) will provide space for restrooms, concessions, press boxes and dugouts, and athletic fields.

“It was just more conducive to combine our three schools on a campus, which is called the complex, and we have a design to keep the high schools separated. [We] have been very successful with our K–8 model, and we’re looking forward to everything coming together,” said District 8 Board Member Dr. Tonia Howard-Hall.

About the Author

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

Featured

  • Different Starting Points, Same End Goal

    Higher education campuses can enhance student experience by implementing mobile credentials to streamline building access, on-campus payments, and access to other amenities. This enables students to connect to their campuses through the technology they use most: their mobile devices.

  • Spaces4Learning Launches 2026 Education Design Showcase Awards

    Spaces4Learning has opened submissions for the 2026 Education Design Showcase! The awards program launched in 1999 with the goal of celebrating innovative, practical solutions in the planning, design, and construction of K–12 and higher-education facilities. EDS recognizes new developments that help achieve optimal learning environments, as well as the architecture firms that brought the ideas to life.

  • concentric silhouettes of a human head

    How Physical Space Shapes the Mind: Designing for Better Learning Outcomes

    Research in environmental psychology and neuroscience increasingly suggests that the way a room is designed can influence memory, focus, or even a student's sense of belonging.

  • 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.

Digital Edition