The Grand Rapids (Michigan) district has broken ground on an elementary school that is being built behind Aberdeen Academy.
Mlive.com reports that the project will be the first new school built on Grand Rapids' northeast side in six decades.
The $36 million school, which has not yet been named, will hold up to 450 students and is scheduled to open in 2027. Construction will not interrupt classes at the existing Aberdeen Academy building, which was constructed in 1929.
When the school opens, Aberdeen Academy and Palmer Elementary will be closed.
The new school will serve pre-K through fifth grade students that now attend Aberdeen and Palmer; Some Palmer students will be reassigned to Kent Hills.
Aberdeen students in grades six to eight will attend a new middle school program at Innovation Central.
The new school will have three rooms per grade level and two for pre-K, along with five special education spaces, music and art classrooms and a media center. Two classroom wings will extend from a central hub that houses a gymnasium and cafeteria.
The two-story building will have a sunken lower level to remain level with the surrounding neighborhood.
The upper level of the building will have a reception/administrative area and special education offices, along with classrooms for third, fourth and fifth grade.
The lower level will have pre-K through second-grade classrooms, an open-concept media center and community space, a gymnasium, music room, art room and cafeteria.
The architects are Wightman and DLR Group.
