Modernization Phase I 2012-2013, 2013-2014

Well lets get down to business, I've laid plans for three holding Schools and by fall of 2012 they will be ready to hold the populations of Schools in Columbia going through modernizations by 2020. The cost high: very high, The aim: even higher, to give every School in Columbia a new or as good as new Building to accomodate growth in Columbia and get Columbia's Schools on par with newer parts of Howard County that have brand new Schools. It will be a very tight schedule as the scope per modernization will be one year per School. Now lets get down to Business! Remember, I'm calling for a lot of residential and commercial redevelopment in these School Districts, so why not greet this development with new Schools?

2012-2013

The Clarksville holding facility will host the populations of both Bryant Woods and Running Brook Elementaries. Lets take a look at what their modernizations will intale.

Bryant Woods, Columbia's first Elementary School will be torn down completely, in its place a brand new State of the Art two floor facility will rise in its place.
The Capacity will be 454. To make for a larger parking lot, Bryant Woods Neighborhood Center and Pool will have to be relocated on adjacent Park Land.
This also addresses newer Columbia Neighborhoods and their fancier swimming pools and Neighborhood Centers. In some cases to accommodate the new modernized School, a new modernized Pool might be part of the deal.

Running Brook (my Alma Mater 1989-1995) will also share the Clarksville holding facility during the 2012-2013 School year. Running Brook will not be completely torn down but most of it will be. The Gym will remain (and be enlarged and the current 1st grade, Kindergarten, and PreK wing which I believe to be a 1984 addition will be renovated to make way for a new Cafeteria and Kitchen.
The wing will be enlarged for Running Brook's growing enrollment. Also the "center" of the original Building will stay which currently holds the Media Center, Art Room, Computer Lab, and Front Office and Health Suite. This will be renovated to house the Music Room, Band Room, ESOL Wing, Hispanic Liaison Room, and a new Art Room.
The new Building will contain the pods for grades PreK-5 and a brand new Front Office, Teacher's Lounge, and Health Suite. The second floor will contain the new Media Center and Computer Lab. Capacity will be 534. The "new" parking lot will be engulfed by the new building and will be relocated to the current Neighborhood Center and Pool. The Neighborhood Center and Pool will be relocated at the oddly placed Verizon Building which has no business in the middle of a Residential Neighborhood. This is as in depth as I'll get for a modernization because I was a student here and I still know the lay of the land.

Clarksville is not the only active holding facility for the 2012-2013 School Year. Cradlerock, due to its large size will house three Schools for 2012-2013. All three Elementary Schools in Oakland Mills will be housed here; Stevens Forest, Talbott Springs, and Thunderhill.

Stevens Forest, Columbia's smallest School is growing. Its old Building, which hasn't had a noticeable renovation since its 1972 opening will be torn down completely. It will no longer be hidden in the woods and will be a much larger facility with a Capcity of 454 versus the current 333.
The common areas; Media Center, Gym, Cafeteria, Computer Lab, and Front Office will be larger and more space will be dedicated to the PreK program. No addition was built to accommodate Full Day Kindergarten so more space will dedicated for that. Changing Demogrpahics warrant additional ESOL Space and a Full Time Hispanic Liaison.
The Neighborhood Center and Pool will be spared. However, the Neighborhood Center will be renovated to match the exterior of the new Elementary School.

Talbott Springs will also be razed. It may very well be the fastest growing Shool in the County. In 2006-2007 the population was 426, 2007-2008; 443, 2008-2009; 478, 2009-2010; 495, and this past year (2010-2011) a huge spike; 581! no redistricitng no new development just plain growth. Obviously from a capacity stand point, Talbott Springs is bursting at the seams.
The new Talbott Springs will be at a slightly different location with Basket Ring Road frontage bringing truth to its address.
The new building Capacity will be 688 and will allow for growth in its own District and may have space if other East Columbia Schools become too crowded. The new Talbott Springs won't take from its Neighborhood Center and Pool but both are due for redevelopment.

Thunderhill is projected to continue to experience growth with enrollment blasting past 400 and eventually 500. 528 will be Thunderhill's new capacity. I always thought the location of Thunderhill Elementary was weird being that it's on Mellonbrook Road and not located near the Neighborhood Center and Pool and Thunderhill Road and Log Chain Road.
Well, seeing as I'm proposing to modernize and replace ALL old Schools in Columbia why not change the location of Thunderhill? I mean, when in Rome right? So I'm proposing that Thunderhill Elementary move to where its Ballfields currently are adjacent to the Neighborhood Center and Pool.
Whether the Neighborhood Center and Pool will be redeveloped as part of the School Modernization, is still up in the air. The School's current Mellonbrook Road location will be sold off to developers for some new Single Family Homes known as "Thunder Hill Estates"

The third Holding School will be the Old Elkridge Elementary. The Norbel School will be housed elsewhere during the modernization period. The final modernization of the 2012-2013 School Year will be Waterloo.
Waterloo, though located in Columbia caters to high growth areas in Ellicott City in Elkridge. Waterloo was built in 1964 pre-dating Columbia. Its neighboring Schools are almost all brand new with Waterloo's District being carved up time and time again. The 47 year old building has also been added on to several times as crowding continues to effect it.Waterloo will completely razed and in its place a brand new Waterloo that will be able to house the Community's growth and whose age won't stick out like a sore thumb. The new Waterloo's Capacity will be 728 a good number for Waterloo's current enrollment numbers and if it declines, the School will help neighboring Bellows Spring which is slated to have as many as 1300 students with a capacity of 762.

Now lets start the 2013-2014 School year at Clarksville. Once again a pair of West Columbia Elementary Schools will occupy Clarksville during their modernizations. Which Schools? Longfellow and Swansfield.

Longfellow's enrollment has been climbing for quite some time now and has been added on to a few times. These additions will be spared during the modernization but the original building will be demolished. The additions (built in 1994 and 2008) included a new Gym, new pod, and what will be a new Cafeteria. The new Longfellow will have a renovated Gym, Cafeteria, and Kindergarden wing. What will eventually be a new Cafeteria is also an existing addition.
The new building will contain wings for Grades 1-5 new Art Room, Music Room, Band Room, ESOL Room, PreK, Front Office and Health Suite. This will all be on the first floor. The second floor will contain a new Media Center and Computer Lab. Capacity will be 468. As part of the demolition, a new black top will be added and parking expanded. The Neighborhood Center and Pool will be spared.

Swansfield, also at Clarksville during the 2013-2014 School Year will have its addition spared. It was built in 1984 and also contains the School's Gym. The addition is rather large and will blend very well into the new construction.
New Construction will be on both sides of the existing addition. On the side closer to Little Patuxent Parkway will be the new Art Room, Music Room, Band Room, ESOL, and Hispanic Liaison.
On the side closer to Rock Coast Road, will be Grades 1-5, the new Cafeteria, Front Office, and Health Suite. The existing addition will be renovated and the Gym enlarged. Classrooms will be for Kindergaten and PreK. Upstairs will be the new Media Center and Computer Lab. Due to associated redistricting the new Capacity of the modernized building will be 788.

At Cradlerock, instead of having three Elementary Schools like last year it have one High School; Oakland Mills.
Oakland Mills is the only High School small enough (1100 Students) to fit in just one Holding School. Oakland Mills received an addition in 2003 which will remain a part of the School after its modernization.The original School, built in 1973 will be demilished. The new existing addition will be renovated to stay current with the modernization and will contain standard classrooms.
The new construction will contain a Fine Arts Wing, a new Auditorium, new Cafeteria, new Gym and Auxilary Gym, with other new Phys Ed. rooms, new Media Center, new Computer Labs, new Science Labs, and a new Front Office and Guidance Office. Since Oakland Mills has room to grow, redistricting here will help relieve corwding at neighboring Schools. That's why I gave Oakland Mills an ambitious capacity of 1438.

Meanwhile at the old Elkridge Elementary, Clemens Crossing students will be here eagerly awaiting their brand new building.
The entire School will be rebuilt and will be given Martin Road frontage. The site of the current building will be the new Ballfields. The Neighborhood Center and Pool will be relocated across Quarterstaff Road on a vacant parcel of land.
The new Clemens Crossing will have a Capacity of 688 due to redistricting and climbing enrollment within the current District.

Well that concludes Phase I of the Modernization of old Columbia Schools. During the summer of 2012

Bollman Bridge Elementary, built in 1988 will receive systematic renovations and an addition. Summer 2013 Pointers Run Elementary, built in 1991 will receive systematic renovations but no addition. Stay tuned for future modernization phases!

Introducing.....Holding Schools and Modernization Pre Phase I

Earlier this year I put forth a plan called the Columbia School Reconstruction Act. It was and is a far reaching plan to Modernize the aging School Buildings in Columbia and put them up to par with new Schools built in other parts of the County. I was very vague on how I would execute this plan, why? Because I didn't have a clue on how I could do it. This post will go into specifics on how to do so. Of course what this doesn't do is indicate how to fund such a bold venture but after decades of funding new School Construction and short changing Columbia Schools, it's time Columbia got a piece of the action. The need for additional buildings has gone down in other parts of the County and not only have Columbia Schools aged but in recent years their enrollment has sky rocketed making the need for intervention all the more urgent. Columbia, it's your turn and here's how it will all be done.

I have extensively researched Montgomery County Schools as they're another rich County in Maryland with Schools that both brand new and aging. Montgomery County has come up with a good way to modernize and or replace old School Buildings that have reached the end of their life cycle and give the student population a place to learn during construction. Montgomery County has what they call "Holding Schools" these are Schools of theirs that have closed and are open to populations of Schools that are modernized or rebuilt. Howard County doesn't have any such Schools right now but it can. I've discovered how it can have three.

The first is Clarksville Elementary, in this region of the County we over built. Dayton Oaks, Clarksville, and Pointers Run are all slated to be just over half full in the coming years. That's a lot of wasted space. Clarksville can close and its district can attend either Dayton Oaks and Pointers Run allowing for full utilization of each School while Clarksville opens its doors to west Columbia Students from 2012-2020.

Next will be Cradlerock School. Cradlerock has ceased to be a Prek-8 and has split into two traditional Elementary and Middle Schools. Presumably the Elementary School will be named Dasher Green like it was before and the middle School will be Owen Brown just like it was before.
The two are slated to continue sharing a roof but I have a plan to change that. Owen Brown was supposed to have its own High School which explains why there are so many ball fields near the School.
Obviously Owen Brown High was never built and students attend Oakland Mills for High School. But the available ball fields will allow for the construction of two new separate buildings one an Elementary School and one a Middle School.These will be the first new Schools built under the Reconstruction Act and construction will begin in the 2011-2012 School year and the new Schools will open Fall of 2012. I'm making all construction projects one year instead of two. Cradlerock will be a Holding School for itself and when it empties, for other East Columbia Schools. The two Schools pictured above are new Montgomery County Schools that Columbia will model its Schools after. The first picture is the new Owen Brown Middle and the second is the new Dasher Green Elementary.

The third Holding School, which won't be used that often will be the old Elkridge Elementary. This stopped being a School when its replacement opened in 1992. It will mostly be used for when High Schools are rebuilt and the districts are carved in three (one at each holding) but will be used for other ventures as well. A couple of Schools won't need holding Schools because their replacements will be built on a different site.

Now I've used a new term that I haven't used before until writing this post "modernization" this is what some of the Schools will undergo instead of a complete tear down while others will undergo a complete tear down. Montgomery County uses this term for Schools that are old but have had recent additions added on and said additions because they're not old will be spared. Only the original part of the building gets torn down and connected to the addition. A modernization is much more than a standard "systematic renovation" that older Howard County Schools get, a modernization is everything but a replacement School, a modernized and a completely torn down School will look exactly the same; brand spankin' new inside and out.

Also during the summer of 2011 Deep Run Elementary will undergo systemic renovations.

Long Reach Reinvestment

Although I'm calling for a lot of redevelopment in Long Reach there are developments here that need not hit the wrecking ball. At the same time their exterior facades could use a lot of updating so that's when I put out a "compromise" post that involves reinvesting into the Communities in question and modernizing the exterior to give equity to Home Owners so they can do the same on the inside. So, after a month of completely bulldozing Long Reach lets end it on a happier note that doesn't involve displacement.

First we start in Locust Park, believe it or not some of Locust Park will still be standing after the demolition crews have done their jobs. The Wooded Ridge Town Homes on Lambskin Lane have escaped the difficulties that the rest of Locust Park hasn't been able to. The Homes are rather small but that alone isn't reason to redevelop them. Also if you're looking to buy you can get a good price here.

The rehabbed Wooded Ridge will feature brand new bricks, trim, roofs, shutters, and windows. New grass will be planted as will shrubs and flowers. If there are sick trees that hinder the growth of new grass then that tree will be cut down and a new baby tree will go in its place.

Next we go to Phelps Luck to the Town Homes at the intersection of Phelps Luck Drive and Lightspun Lane. These feature brick and stucco exteriors that lets face it are just plain ugly. Maintenance has been so so as a whole but even good maintenance can't cure ugly.

As these Homes are fixed up, the brick homes will get new bricks and the stucco homes will get vinyl siding. Newer more modern looking windows will be installed as well.

Here's a look at what the new backs of the Homes will look like if you're driving down Tamar Drive. If you didn't know any better you'd think these Homes were redeveloped.

Now Bladegreen Lane holds a secret, it would appear that in passing it's just single family homes but guess again! At the end of the road lies the King Charles Town Homes. They're just a little dated and offer some very large end units. Currently their fronts are a mixture of brick and siding, their new facades will be all brick.
Now King Charles Town Homes will be fit for a King.

Now we come to Wood Creek Town Homes. These homes are almost indentical to Bryant Square in Wilde Lake which I'm suggesting to have redeveloped. Bryant Square is in a much worse Neighborhood and the Homes have suffered as a result. Wood Creek just has dated homes and it's located in a much better area.

The newly modernized Wood Creek will also feature brick front Homes with new windows, doors, trim, shutters, and siding on the back.

Here's a look at what one will see from the back of Wood Creek. Just like the Lightspun Lane development, the Homes will appear to be brand new without a single demolition crew.

Finally we come to the small Single Family Home Development at High Tor Hill and Phelps Luck Drive. They lack any sort of front windows whether it's from a Courtyard or simply an absence of windows. These Homes, which are mixture of brick and wood siding will get updated siding and additional full length front windows. Though small in size they're located in a great area and even with new siding and windows, they will be a good deal.

That's it for the reinvestment of Long Reach, how much did you expect me to have? After all, I want so much of it to hit the wrecking ball!