Nebraska SD Breaks Ground on New Gym, Commons

Osceola Public Schools in Nebraska held a groundbreaking ceremony for a $7.7 million new building that will be constructed between the elementary school and high school.

The 26,000-square-foot addition will include a daycare, a new kitchen facility with updated equipment, a commons area and a new gymnasium that will improve the elementary school’s PE program.

Plans for the school building began in 2015 and after the district incorporated community feedback into their plans, the bond was passed earlier this year.

The commons area will function both as a cafeteria and a space for various school activities and events and will be linked to the new gym which seats 1,000. The gym will greatly enhance the elementary PE program and provide a space for physical activity during inclement weather. The new addition will include four locker rooms, an athletic training room, coaches’ offices and a new parking lot.

As part of this construction project, the main entrance to the elementary school will be renovated to provide a secure access point for visitors during school hours. There will also be a new safer walkway for students and parents.

Construction will begin next month and is expected to take a year to complete. Wilkins ADP is the architect and BD Construction is serving as the construction manager.

About the Author

Yvonne Marquez is senior editor of Spaces4Learning. She can be reached at [email protected].

Featured

  • Opportunity by Design Framework

    Opportunity by Design

    Educational improvement efforts often focus on curriculum, instruction, assessment, professional development, and intervention systems while treating the physical school building as background. But school design is not a passive backdrop to learning — it is a structural lever for equity.

  • Embry-Riddle Completes Construction on Research, Lab Facility

    Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University (ERAU) in Daytona Beach, Fla., recently announced the end of construction on a new research and lab facility on campus. The Center for Aerospace Engineering II (CAT II) will support aerospace research and technology development and broke ground last summer.

  • Chicago District Completes Construction on New Elementary School

    North Chicago School District 187 in North Chicago, Ill., recently held a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the new Forrestal Elementary School, according to a news release. The new school marks a major investment in military-connected students and families at Naval Station Great Lakes.

  • How Proactive Maintenance Can Transform Athletic Facilities into Strategic Assets for College Sports

    College athletics is entering one of the most transformative periods in its history. With NIL reshaping financial models and competitive expectations, athletic departments across the country are being asked to do more than ever with increasingly constrained resources.