Greenwood Village, CO — Under dark gray skies, GH Phipps broke ground on May 26 to kick off construction of the K-8 school at Candelas — the first new Jeffco school in almost a decade. On hand were Jeffco Schools officials, the new school’s principal, the mayor of Arvada, the Arvada City Council member from that district, and architects from Hord Coplan Macht.
The $25 million, 101,000-square-foot school will sit on a 12-acre site in northwest Arvada, part of the booming Candelas planned community development. The school can accommodate 800 to 1,000 students, with classrooms, break-out spaces, and a learning commons. The gymnasium and cafeteria are designed to be open for after-school uses, while the rest of the school remains secure. Expected completion is fall 2017.
Jefferson County Schools Facilities Director Tim Reed said after the groundbreaking that school planners began to have problems a decade ago in terms growing pains in parts of the district. “We saw growth, and the recommendation was a K-6 school at first, but then we revisited it. The whole project needed a K-8.”
NOTE: View a fly-through animation from Hord Coplan Macht.
Rendering and link to animation courtesy of Hord Coplan Macht
