Escambia County (Fla.) district is building $44.6 million elementary in Pensacola

The Escambia County (Fla.) district is building a new Pleasant Grove Elementary School in Pensacola.

The $44.6 million facility will have a capacity of 801 students. It will replace the existing Pleasant Grove Elementary, and relieve crowding at Blue Angel and Hellen Caro elementary schools, reports Pensacola News Journal. 

The existing Pleasant Grove Elementary School building is aging with little space to grow on the property; it also is on Naval Air Station Pensacola's flight path. To get away from the base's flight path, the district chose to find a new location for Pleasant Grove.

Despite the regular military flights nearby, the students likely won't be able to hear the roar of their engines, thanks to a construction technique intended to keep out outside sound. The technique is called insulating concrete forms, or ICFs, and is meant be sturdy, energy efficient and block out noise.

The campus will be surrounded by 25 acres of conservation wetlands, and the building design will take advantage of the scenery. The school will have an "H" shape with courtyards in the middle.

The new school is scheduled to open in 2023.