73°
“The changes are definitely needed,” said Veronica Byrnes, senior project architect at H2M Architects and Engineers. “It’s throughout the entire building, so it’d be hard to pinpoint one area because we’re looking to focus on all of the areas. It’s a big process. This is really just the beginning.”
The project is part of a districtwide $48.2 million school bond that was accepted in October 2012 by a 73.7 percent approval of the community. Eastview School makes up almost half of the bond at $22.5 million.
Superintendent Chris Clouet said at that time the Eastview roof needed to be fixed and H2M agreed with his assessment because of leaks. Work on the roof will begin once school is finished in June and H2M is hopeful it will be completed by late October or early November barring weather delays.
The auditorium roof will be completed first for the safety or students when they return to school. Then the team will work along Main Street on individual pieces of the roof down to the gymnasium.
Construction on the interior is set to take place starting in January 2014. The preliminary design calls for a multipurpose room on each floor for two to three classes to work on a specific project plus new lighting and carpet throughout the building.
The upper and lower gymnasiums will be renovated, including the addition of a second elevator to make the lower gymnasium handicapped accessible. The cafeteria and library will also undergo changes.
H2M came up with the renderings after meeting with Eastview and Highland School teachers and administrators for 11 workshops over the past two months, which Byrnes said were “incredibly productive.”
Teachers asked for one or two “technology walls” in the general education classrooms for SMART Boards or dry erase boards, and storage in the back of the room. The renderings of five science classrooms throughout the building call for workspace along the perimeter and desks in the middle.
There are also separate rooms for the band, chorus and orchestra in the preliminary design plans. H2M will present the board with preliminary designs of the cafeteria and art wing in a month or two.
“We’ll continue with the preliminary design until we’re done with the remainder of the preliminary design, which will bring us to the beginning of April,” said Byrnes. “Then from there, we’ll work on and complete the construction documents, which are the actual drawings and specifications that get submitted to the State Education Department (SED)."
She said the submission should take place by the end of June. "It usually takes about four months to get through SED, so we’d look for approval sometime in mid to late fall,” he said.
Click here to follow Daily Voice White Plains and receive free news updates.
