Skip to main content
Add as a preferred source on Google

Groundbreakings Kick Off School Projects for Texas ISD

  • 01/26/18

Belton, Texas — This week teachers, students and administrators held a groundbreaking to celebrate the start of construction for the new Charter Oak Elementary School. When completed for the 2019 start of classes, the new 82,300 SF Charter Oak Elementary School will have capacity for 800 students.

The new school will be a flexible and adaptable 21st century learning environment, based on the building program developed through the collaboration between Belton ISD and O’Connell Robertson. In addition to general and special education classrooms, students will enjoy specialty flex classrooms that offer art, music and computer stations.

Charter Oak was selected as the name to commemorate a historic event in Belton history, where, under a live oak tree, Bell County held its first election in 1850. The live oak tree still exists today, not far from the new school location, near Poison Oak Road in Temple, Texas.

Belton ISD has been identified as a fast growth school district; the projects are part of their Roadmap to BISD 2025, a 10-year facilities master plan to provide capacity for growth through 2025. "Belton ISD has grown by over 3,500 students in the last decade’,” said Dr. Susan Kincannon, Belton ISD Superintendent.

“In the last 20 years, our student enrollment has doubled. By 2025, we will have nearly 15,000 students in our schools.  Planning is essential to our ability to keep pace with the fast growth of our district. O’Connell Robertson’s team has worked side by side with the District to study and develop plans to address our facility needs.”

Earlier this month, Belton ISD held another groundbreaking to mark expansions to Lakewood Elementary School, which will include music classrooms and a new gymnasium. The projects at Lakewood ES are expected to be complete by July 2018. O’Connell Robertson provided architecture, MEP engineering and interior design services for both projects.

Featured

  • University of Tennessee at Chattanooga Launches New Emergency Communications System

    The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga (UTC) recently deployed a new emergency notification and incident management system for its campus, according to a news release. The university partnered with 911Cellular to launch Safe@UTC, a smartphone app allowing university officials to communicate and respond during emergency situations.

  • LAN, Inc. Opens Office in College Station, Texas

    Lockwood, Andrews & Newnam, Inc. (LAN) recently announced the opening of a new office in College Station, Texas, to support its regional client base, according to a news release. The organization provides engineering, design, and program management services for water, wastewater, transportation, stormwater, and education clients in the Brazos Valley.

  • Massachusetts K–12 District Selects Architect for New Junior High

    Swansea Public Schools in Swansea, Mass., recently announced that it has selected Finegold Alexander Architects to design a new junior high school for the district, according to a news release. The firm will create the Feasibility Study and Schematic Design for Joseph Case Junior High School after a lengthy selection process by the Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA).

  • Illinois State University Breaks Ground on College of Fine Arts Transformation

    Illinois State University in Normal, Ill., recently held a groundbreaking ceremony for the Wonsook Kim College of Fine Arts transformation project, according to university news. The series of new constructions and renovations will upgrade spaces in Centennial East, the Center for the Visual Arts, and the Center for the Performing Arts, as well as replace the existing Centennial West facility with a new Commons Building.