New Construction

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].