Philadelphia district unveils an $80 million elementary school
The Philadelphia district has unveiled an $80 million elementary school in the Mayfair neighborhood.
Northeast Community Propel Academy, a K-8 school, is the new home for about 1,100 students who had been attending three crowded nearby elementary schools and one middle school.
It is the first new elementary campus the district has built in 14 years, reports Chalkbeat Philadelphia. The last new elementary school created in the district, as opposed to replaced with a new building, was the Juniata Park Academy in 2007.
The 180,000-square-foot building can accommodate up to 1,900 students. The instruction will emphasize a STEM-based curriculum.
Propel offers two schoolyards one for younger students and one for older students, each built with age appropriate equipment. It also features a media center, a music suite, maker spaces, and four classroom wings. Three of the wings are for K-5 students and one is for middle school students.
A wide staircase near the main entrance has not only steps for ascending to the next floor, but bleacher-style seats for students to collaborate and socialize.
The construction of the new school was unusual in that the district paid an architect and contractor to design and build it, rather than supervising construction itself, a public private partnership that departs from common practice.
Stantec is the architect and Gilbane Building Company is the contractor.