No arrests reported so far in a reported burglary attempt at the closed Genesee Hill School today. Police and Seattle Public Schools security responded around noontime to a report of a possible break-in; police told us at the scene that it appeared to be an attempt. Scanner traffic later indicated that witnesses saw two suspects, both female, but no other description, heading northbound on 51st SW.

A preferred “schematic design” was revealed last night for what is now going by the working title of the “new elementary school at Genesee Hill,” rather than “the new Schmitz Park Elementary at Genesee Hill,” according to project manager Janet Donelson.

The design was shown to about 20 community members in the Schmitz Park cafeteria, exactly three weeks before the February 12th election in which Seattle voters will decide whether to approve the Seattle Public Schools BEX (Building Excellence) IV levy that will generate the property-tax dollars for this $38 million project and others around the city.

As Donelson explained at the start of the meeting, the district provided some advance money to get the design work under way – since getting a new school open by fall 2015 would be impossible if they waited till after the election to start; a community advisory team has been working since last fall.

Ahead, four more views from last night’s presentation led by BLRB Architects, and what happens next:

While stressing that the design is “still really malleable” and in its “infancy,” the project team nonetheless also repeatedly stressed that this is the design concept with which the advisory committee had just decided to move forward. Note that these are not architecturally fleshed-out renderings, but rather deal with “massing” – size and shape – and placement of features on the site. Above, the green playfield would be where most of the current, to-be-demolished Genesee Hill Elementary is now, on the southwest side of the site. In the next view, with the north side of the site along SW Dakota in the foreground, the red structures are the main facilities, while the blue in the distance represents the classroom wing, with pods of 4 classrooms (“small learning communities”) clustered around potential shared-activity spaces for occasional team-teaching, and outdoor access that could facilitate outdoor learning. There also would be a flexible classroom with a movable wall that could be used to create smaller spaces. The east side of the building would “engage” with the hillside, with the inside hallways more like bridges over it.

The building will be built to accommodate about 650 students, with an alternate to downsize it to 500 students if the costs are “way over,” it was explained. A floor plan was shown too, with a “community living room” near the entrance on the north, with a stairway to the library on the 2nd level. A dance studio and instrumental music area would be nearby, and then, a bit further south, a student dining hall connecting to a gym. The center of that main building would include a “multi-use space” usable for math and science among other things.

Staff parking would be where the playfield is now, on the southeast side of the site, but set as far west into a slope as possible.

The dramatic grade change on the site – 35 feet from the current building down to that current field site – is one factor the project team says it’s been working with. The design principles were described as including “really fit(ting) into the challenging site” where Genesee Hill Elementary now sits, and being “timeless” as well as serving as a “community resource … not just a place of learning … to be a community center, to allow for community access onto the site, to use as a park, if you will,” plus “to be sustainable … good steward of taxpayer dollars and good steward of our environment.”

On the second floor, the library would be located in a way that would take advantage of the Mount Rainier and territorial views from that location.” Donelson said that the preferred scheme, even with some two-story buildings, would still allow nearby neighbors to maintain their views.

After discussing the details of the “preferred scheme,” there was some Q/A.

One attendee had high praise for the concept, saying she could see herself and her child “interacting with the building” and that it would be more pleasant not to see the parking lot in a prominent spot along SW Genesee. One neighbor said that while she would be losing a “park in (her) backyard” because of the parking lot replacing the current southeast playfield, keeping the trees was a positive move. (The parking lot will be pushed as far west into the hillside as possible, the architects later added.)

Another attendee wondered about the grade change from the driveway on the site that would go along most of 51st (the site’s west side) and then part of Dakota with entrance/exits on each of those streets. It would be one way from 51st northeast to Dakota. The 51st side would only be used at the start and end of the school day.

“Could it be a hardscape play surface during the day?” someone wondered. Maybe, was the reply.

WHAT’S NEXT: The project team and advisory committee will continue working with this design concept, warning that “we’ve got a long road ahead of us.” And more community meetings are ahead – including another one “within a month or two” that will flesh out the design with more architectural details. No date yet. “Please come and voice your opinions if you can,” those in attendance were exhorted. The timeline as currently envisioned calls for going out to bid in spring 2014, followed immediately by construction, which they hope would be done “by the end of 2015.” There is no website for the project yet.

(The Genesee-Schmitz Neighborhood Council also will continue focusing on the site’s current and future status and programs; its members and other neighbors have worked hard in the past few years to make sure the site has continued to play a role in the neighborhood, with community gardens on its west side, among other projects.)

On Dec. 15 (which happened to be the day after the Newtown, CT, school tragedy), the School Design Advisory Team (SDAT) met to explore possible layouts for the new elementary school to be built on the Genesee Hill site. A variety of possibilities were explored, and the design was narrowed down to one for the architects to further explore and assess from a feasibility and cost standpoint.

Here is a summary of what was included in this design (apologies that it is a text description, but no drawings or plans are currently available):

- The building itself would be located mainly on the upside down L-shaped upper area of the site (as viewed from SW Genesee St.; i.e., the levels where the current bldg. and portables are located). It is possible that some classrooms would “step down” one or both of the slopes to the lower field; this would be more expensive upfront but could result in heating savings later.

- The preferred design would have half the classrooms where the southernmost portables are now, overlooking or partially stepping down the slope; these would be connected to a central core area at the corner of the L to include the library–optimally located for the view of Rainier–and administrative offices. The long leg of the L (on the western part of the site) would include more classrooms (again either on top of the slope or partially stepping down it) and the gym/multipurpose/performance and Hiawatha spaces.

- The building’s elements would include an office/administrative area (preferred to be located where it will see all visitors entering the main entrance off of SW Dakota St.), 6 clusters of classrooms, with 4 classrooms, restrooms, and other shared spaces in each cluster. There would also be a library, gym, multipurpose room (cafeteria), occupational/speech/physical therapy spaces, and a smaller performance space. In addition, there would be space for the Hiawatha before-and-after school child care program to operate, custodial spaces, etc. The design team dealt only with the major spaces, not the more minor ones, and even then, the architectural team will have to make the final call.

- The large trees on the site are currently being assessed as to their location and condition; obviously, any buildings on the slopes would necessitate removal of trees and also native plants on the west side. It is important to school staff to have visibility through the site for safety purposes. The design advisory team members were split with regard to keeping the trees, with some folks (such as GSNC) in favor of keeping them, and others not at all concerned if they were cut.

- Parent/general parking would likely be onsite along the SW Dakota St. side, and staff parking would be located near the corner of 51st and Genesee; bus dropoff and loading would be along 51st Ave. SW. There would also need to be a service drive, perhaps off of SW Dakota St. There are very few access points on the property where the street level and the site level match, which makes this a challenge.

- The main play areas would be located at the NE corner of the lower field, nestled below the building, with a switchbacked ramp from the building down to the field. There would be a smaller asphalt area (perhaps 1/4 to 1/3 of the overall area), with the remainder left in grass. The school would also like to have a small vegetable garden for the students. In addition, there would be a covered play area of some kind, and a covered outdoor learning area/pavilion.

- There would be stairs added at the NE and SW corners of the grassy field to the upper level; these could be used as people come and go from the site. (There would be no public passthrough at the corner of the L.)

- There would be an entrance gate, perhaps with art, at the SE corner of the property. This would allow community access across the site to the NE stairs and SW Dakota St. during nonschool hours; GSNC is working with the district in hopes of getting some assurance that this access will be protected.

Remember that none of this is set in stone, though major changes to the general layout are probably unlikely. The architectural team continues to take comments even during the holidays, so we welcome your feedback to our e-mail address and will pass it on to them.

The public will have an opportunity to comment on a more finalized version of this plan during the week of Jan. 22-25 when the architects will be available daily during school hours at Schmitz Park School. There will also be a public meeting around that time (date to be announced).

In addition, GSNC is working with the district and the architects to finalize the date of the next GSNC meeting when the architects can present their vision for the new design (with cost and feasibility taken into account). We will let you know as soon as we have more information on this meeting.

Though the vote on the Seattle Public Schools BEX IV construction-project levy isn’t until February, the process of planning one of its designated projects is under way now.

Last night, the Design Team for what’s for now known as the new Schmitz Park Elementary at Genesee Hill convened a “community conversation,” inviting neighbors to come talk about ideas and concerns. The school will be built on the site where the closed Genesee Hill Elementary now stands; it was long home to Pathfinder K-8 until that school moved into what had been Cooper Elementary on Pigeon Point in fall 2009, as part of the school-closure plan that shuttered GH permanently.

Providing that BEX IV (finalized November 7th) wins voter approval, the new school is scheduled to open at the Genesee Hill site in fall 2015. As projects of this size go, that’s a relatively short time frame, and that is why, the district has explained, the design process was convened even before the vote.

Design Teams are part of the SPS process of creating new school facilities – in a process explained here. They aren’t just for school buildings; a few years ago, we covered the Design Team convened to plan the future of the site that used to hold Denny International Middle School, now park, playground, and sports facilities considered to be part of the district-owned Southwest Athletic Complex.

District spokesperson Tom Redman tells WSB that the early design work for the new Genesee Hill school is being “paid for by unspent funds from BEX III and BTA III capital levies.” The firm chosen to do the design is BLRB, as approved by the School Board recently.

The Design Team, meantime, includes community volunteers as well as staffers and consultants. Janet Donelson and Tom Bates were coordinating last night’s meeting. Bates is from BLRB Architects, with whom the district has contracted to design the new school, which could hold up to 650 students.

We dropped by last night’s meeting about midway through. Participants were talking about traffic concerns and how the new school should address them – speeding cars are a problem on Genesee Hill itself, for example. Bates reassured them that the city process will include a traffic study, which will address other issues including how to get students across the street. Sustainability and environmental design were asked about, too; that’s in the state’s requirement for public-school buildings, Donelson and Bates pointed out.

From notes taken during community discussion throughout the meeting, these are other points of concern:

*School design needs to reflect the neighborhood; building areas that face out to the neighborhood should not look like “blank walls”

*Existing plants/landscaping should be preserved if possible, but if removed, it’s important that landscape design reflect the neighborhood

*Public outreach is vital, to reach other schools’ PTAs/PTSAs and organizations such as the Genesee-Schmitz Neighborhood Council, Hiawatha Community Center Advisory Council, West Seattle Junction Association

WHAT’S NEXT: The next public meeting at which you can offer comments and ideas is with the Genesee-Schmitz Neighborhood Council on December 13th – watch the GSNC website for more details. (The future of the school site has been one of that group’s signature issues since its founding more than two years ago.)

They really want to hear from the community, and this is your chance to have input at the conceptual stage!

The district is planning a multistory building that will serve from 500 to 650 students and meet district guidelines for elementary schools, but the specifics of what it will look like, what it will contain, and where it will be located on the site are all up for discussion.

To get your creative juices flowing, below are links to the sites of some schools that the design advisory team toured recently; please come to the meeting to share your feedback, or e-mail us at gsncouncil@gmail.com with your comments.

Helen Keller (Lake Washington School District):
lwsd.org/school/keller/About-Us/Pages/NewBuilding.aspx
(Scroll down to lower images. Aerial photo at top shows both the new and the old buildings, and the old one has since been demolished and a sand athletic field installed.)

Riverview (Snohomish School District):
riverview.sno.wednet.edu/
cefpi.org/i4a/pages/index.cfm?pageid=4284
(Scroll down to see the video on the second link.)

Sherwood Forest (Bellevue School District):
bsd405.org/schools/elementary/sherwood-forest.aspx

and another that a member of the advisory team shared (but the team did not tour):

Robert Frost Elementary School (Lake Washington School District):
studioms.com/portfolio/k-12-education/robert-frost-elementary-school

Schmitz Park is at 5000 SW Spokane.

GSNC is pleased to announce that Kerrie Schurr, the group’s Communications Chair, has been selected to represent the council on the Seattle School District’s Design Advisory Team for the new Genesee Hill school building (future location of the Schmitz Park program, if the capital levy passes in February). This is a great opportunity for the community to have input into the design considerations, either via the council or directly to the district at the Community Conversation for this project.

The Community Conversation will be held on Monday, November 19, from 6:30 to 8 p.m. at Schmitz Park Elementary School. A second Community Conversation will be held during the week of January 21 (details forthcoming).

At the short (1-hr.) GSNC meeting last Thursday evening, those in attendance came up with the initial list below of desired features for the new Genesee Hill school. Additional ideas may be submitted to gsncouncil@gmail.com by 5 p.m. Sunday, November 18.

The GSNC requests, after the jump:

1. Good traffic flow around the site for buses and cars, plus onsite parking

2. Indoor and outdoor meeting spaces that could be used by the community as well as the school

3. Garden with integrated community-school involvement (would build on current community garden)

4. Green space, preferably with preservation of native plants

5. Emergency location in event of a major disaster

6. Building to be LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Certified, preferably to Gold Standard (if budget allows)

7. Building scale and size to fit in with the neighborhood while minimizing the footprint to preserve green space

8. Good drainage on the property

9. A cistern under the building to capture water for garden use

One area that was overlooked in the discussions (but will likely be added) is optimizing safety and security at the site (i.e., designing in such a way as to discourage illegal activity such as drug dealing).

Some other ideas that were discussed and may warrant further consideration: Preserve the sledding hill; include electric car charging stations in the parking lot; preserve community access through the property. Two controversial areas that were discussed were whether to consider a dog park (but district/city rules would not allow it); and whether to keep the large evergreens (district staff see them as a safety concern in the event of windstorms). One meeting attendee pointed out that the trees were not there in 1965 when his children attended Genesee Hill School.

One possible area of concern: Whether the site has any soil contamination from the old Asarco smelter in Tacoma.

Thanks to Bryan and Janet Jones for photos from the grounds of the former Genesee Hill school, where the community gardens are getting some TLC from neighborhood and Seattle Pacific University CityQuest volunteers. That work’s going on till about 2 pm.

But it overlaps with another event you can join in, too – from 1 till 3 pm, make mosaic stepping stones with Bright River Studio artist Terri Goodwin. Just bring “a colorful old plate or tile to break up for the mosaic” and “dress for mess.” You’ll get to keep your finished creation.

ADDED: Afterward, Janet sent out this summary:

Today was a gold star day at the school, with several long-awaited tasks accomplished, as follows:

Four new basketball nets installed
Some playground sweeping
All summer debris transferred to the dumpster
Ivy pulled from the Dakota hedge
Wildlife area tidied
Blackberries trimmed
Wood chips wheelbarrowed to beds – wildlife area and behind play structure
Two and a half trash bags of litter picked up.
Photos with story posted to the wsblog
Stepping stone art

Thank you one and all!

Thanks to Rob for the photos from the ex-Genesee Hill School campus, where Seattle Public Schools has just fenced off building access – as they had told us two weeks ago that they planned to do in the “near future.”

District spokesperson Tom Redman had told WSB that they planned to fence off the buildings because of increasing crime – graffiti, other vandalism, break-ins – but that garden or field use wouldn’t be affected. Rob says that with the fencing, “The buildings are still accessible from the west side (51st) and the park is only accessible from the south end (Genesee Hill).”

Last month, the district had fenced off field access from SW Genesee, citing vandalism concerns.

What would make our neighborhood a great place to live in 2020?

The GSNC is embarking on a neighborhood Vision 2020 planning process, and we want YOUR input and involvement! Please come to our next meeting and share your ideas with us:
• What do you like about our neighborhood now?
• What short- and long-term changes would you like to see?*

Thursday, April 26, 2012
6:30-7 p.m. Social Time (refreshments will be served)
7-8:30 p.m. Meeting (with lots of time for input and perhaps a speaker or two)
Howell Auditorium, West Side Presbyterian Church, 3601 California Avenue SW

* Some areas to think about:
Social events, parks, communication, traffic improvements, beautification projects, education and support, crime prevention, emergency preparedness, gardening, policy, shared interests/resources, volunteer opportunities

For more information (including a map), please visit our website at www.genesee-schmitz.org. If you would like to be added to our mailing list, please send your name and email address to gsncouncil@gmail.com

The vacant former Genesee Hill Elementary is being besieged by vandals, says Seattle Public Schools, so now they’re going to put up even more fencing. Four weeks ago, we reported on a new locked gate along SW Genesee, which was mostly aimed at vandals, according to the district, but now it seems that’s not enough. Tom Redman from the SPS Capital Projects and Planning department tells WSB the district is “going to fence off the Genesee Hill building with temporary fencing in the near future. There has been increasing vandalism and graffiti plus another break-in last week. Crews will fence off the building, but it will not affect the garden use or the field use (use of the field as a dog park is still not allowed).” Right now, it doesn’t seem likely the Genesee Hill building will ever reopen; in the district’s BEX IV levy planning, it’s mostly under discussion as a future site for an elementary to replace Schmitz Park.

Happened at 2:30 (Wednesday), 46th & Genesee, dog barked and possibly chased off the crooks but the packages are gone. UPS showed up at 2:35, FedEx at 2:45, crook stole the packages at around 3. From what I understand the crooks are following the trucks; I recommend that you send packages to your work or have them held at FedEx or UPS.

Even if you are not expecting any deliveries yourself – if you see someone suspicious in the vicinity of a delivery truck (or anywhere else!) don’t hesitate to call 911 – someone’s tip might just catch serial thieves with a trunkload of other people’s holiday presents.