Trustees review schematic design for Elkin Lewis bus maintenance, fueling and wash campus

Architects with Huckabee presented schematic design drawings for a new Cedar Hill ISD transportation campus at the Elkin Lewis site on March 3, outlining a new bus maintenance building, bus wash, consolidated fuel station with electric-vehicle charging, expanded bus parking and interior renovations to the existing Elkin facility.

The design presentation by Tim Brennan of Huckabee laid out the core elements the district asked for in programming: a drive-through, four-bay yellow-bus maintenance building; a separate fuel-storage and system building of roughly 2,500 square feet; a bus wash; and expanded warehouse space inside the existing Elkin building. Brennan said the new maintenance building footprint is about 7,200 square feet and the overall programed campus would total roughly 31,000 square feet after renovations.

Brennan said the site plan uses two parcels shown as a contiguous development along Belt Line Road and includes a secured boundary with RFID access gates for buses. "We are planning on having 4 different fuel pumps for a total of 8 vehicles [that] can dispense at a time with multiple different flavors," Brennan told the trustees, adding the islands will include standard gasoline, diesel, propane and diesel exhaust fluid (DEF). He also described a separate, wider set of islands to host electric-vehicle chargers: "We have 10 electric bus locations closest to Beltline Road with the EV chargers and a canopy," Brennan said, and noted the design provides conduit for future charger expansion.

The site plan increases the campus parking to 331 total spaces, up from the district's current count; Brennan said the existing site today includes about 1,316 total parking spaces across uses and roughly 64 current bus parking spaces. Designers propose pull-forward, reverse-in bus stalls and distinct circulation so buses enter from Belt Line Road, are screened at access control points and exit on Clark Street through a new curb cut. The plan shows a new loading dock and relocated warehouse access.

On stormwater, Brennan said the designers are leaving one existing detention basin in place and introducing a new detention basin in the lower-right corner of the parcel; the basin will be about 4 feet deep and connect underground to a stream with a flow restrictor sized to release water at a rate the city allows. "That detention pond was planned to hold stormwater for that development," Brennan said, and added the design team intends to avoid putting buildings over covered drainage runs to preserve maintenance access.

Trustees asked about electric buses funded by a roughly $2 million grant; in response a district representative clarified electric buses will use charging infrastructure and Brennan said the islands are sized so each island can serve two vehicles and the proposed layout supports nine to ten EV parking/charging locations now with conduit for additional chargers if the district adds capacity later. Board members also asked about security; Brennan and district staff said the design includes updated alarm systems, cameras and planned card‑reader access between public and secured areas inside the Elkin building, plus secured perimeter fencing and gated access.

Brennan told the board the schedule has shifted about a month because of additional work with the City of Cedar Hill planning department on a planned-development/zoning process; the team is asking the board to authorize moving into design-development after the meeting.

Next steps: the district and design team will pursue zoning/planning approvals with the city, complete design development and return with budget numbers and final materials for board review.