By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor
Early design concepts for “the new Alki” (Elementary) made their public debut at an online community meeting last night.
The school is being rebuilt with $67 million from the 2019 BEX V levy; the existing gymnasium and adjacent community center will remain. Construction is expected to start in about a year and will last two years.
The meeting began with greetings from Seattle Public Schools‘ project manager Brian Fabella, a West Seattle resident, and Mason Skeffington, Alki Elementary’s principal, who acknowledged the School Design Advisory Team‘s work in the planning process over recent months. Architects from Mahlum also were there, as was a rep from Cornerstone General Contractors, the Bothell-based firm that will build the school.
Mahlum’s Becky Hutchinson said Alki has just over 300 students currently. Construction is expected to begin in summer 2023; Alki will relocate to the former Schmitz Park Elementary building until the new school opens in fall 2025. Here’s the timeline:
More than 100 businesses and 100 craftspeople will be needed for the construction, and bidding will go out in March 2023, said Bryan Gormley of Cornerstone.
Lead architect Laura Poulin of Mahlum took over from there. She shared some of the school’s history, including the original 1913 building, which has long since been demolished. This project will demolish the school but not its gym, nor the adjacent city-operated community center.
They’re doubling the school’s square feet to 82,000, so that it can hold more than 500 students, preschool through 5th grade, whereas currently it holds 45,000 sf and just over 300 students.
The new building will be three stories (plus a penthouse) to accommodate that much room.
They hope to create a “front porch” for the school (see the image atop this report) and relocate its front door to what they’re calling the “parks boulevard” along the north side of the school, facing Alki Playfield. It will incorporate outdoor learning space. Bus and parent dropoff would remain where it is now. There will be no on-site parking – the current space used for that along 59th SW will be part of the “boulevard” space. Hutchinson showed a list of other SPS schools that offer little or no off-street parking (none were in West Seattle, though). A “traffic management plan” will be developed closer to when the new school opens.
Stacey Crumbaker talked about who’s been involved so far and how equity will be addressed, the message the building is intended to send. Students as well as staff and families have been involved. (You can see extensive information about that in the full slide deck from the meeting, which you can see here.)
What will Alki Elementary look and feel like? Crumbaker said they aspire to retain the feeling of a community “where everybody knows everybody.” She showed the entry concept:
The classroom concept:
And she reiterated that the building will now face and embrace the park, rather than the street. A big atrium-style commons space will give everyone a view into what’s going on above them:
There’s also a vision for features to teach the area’s history – including Alki as a place where colonizers arrived. (They’re talking to the Duwamish Tribe about this, Crumbaugh said.)
Materials will reflect the natural environment – rocks, water,, beach, trees.
So what’s next? The land-use process begins this fall, including requests for zoning exceptions (“departures”).
In Q&A, nearby residents asked for more information, including access to design documents. There was a question about security; Fabella replied, “Regarding security, there will be a new secure entry vestibule. There will be also increased staff/admin visibility of the entrance.” Asked about the old gym as a holdover, Crumbaker noted that it will be brought up to current codes, including “new finishes so this space feels like an integrated part of the school when it opens.” It’ll be linked to an all-electric building by the construction. What about the basketball courts north of the school? SPS is talking with Parks about possible updates. ReThe parking between the end of the Schmitz Park trail and the community center will remain. Vehicle access to the space on the north side of the school is still being discussed.
A neighbor worried that elimination of the existing parking area on the northwest side (slide above) will further stress street parking in the nearby neighborhoods, especially when there’s a school event: “Eliminating 20 or 30 parking spots is going to have a pretty huge impact.” The project team acknowledged that as an “operational challenge.”
That’s where the meeting wrapped up. A recording of the meeting will be posted on the district webpage for the project, which is where you can find other info and updates.
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