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Design team presents two options to replace 100-year-old Eustis Elementary; community raises traffic and neighborhood concerns
Summary
Architects and the district's construction manager presented two alternatives to replace century-old Eustis Elementary: an on-site, historic-preserving renovation with complex phasing, or a new-build prototype adjacent to Eustis Middle School that shortens construction but raises site-prep costs.
Design teams from Schenkel Schultz and Klima Weeks, supported by construction manager DACG, presented master-plan options for replacing the century-old Eustis Elementary School and asked the board to give direction on preferred site and phasing.
Option 1 ("South" / on-site) preserves the historic north-facing public face of Building 1 while reconfiguring circulation, absorbing part of Salem Street to connect both sides of the campus and adding new one- and two-story classroom wings. The on-site concept would require substantial phasing choices: (a) build a temporary portable campus on-site (roughly 30—40 portables), (b) phase construction and swing classrooms on-site, or (c) move students temporarily to an off-site swing space (Curtwright campus). The architects and CM emphasized that the on-site options carry schedule and cost trade-offs, including longer construction durations and logistics of operating while occupied.
Option 2 (alternate site adjacent to Eustis Middle School) uses a prototype elementary design (similar to Fruitland Park) on a larger site, enabling shared bus-loop accommodations, more car stacking and a shorter construction window. DACG said the alternate-site build could complete in about 18 months but noted about $3.5 million of site-prep costs included in their estimate and a roughly 15% escalation factor versus earlier comparable jobs.
The construction manager presented comparative schedule and cost drivers: a full portable campus option (36 months, with portable acquisition cost estimated at $4.5—5M), a phased on-site build (36—48 months), and the Curtwright swing-site (about 18 months, lower program disruption). DACG said swing-site work was the most effective to reduce in-place student disruption and construction risk.
Community members voiced both opposition and support: several residents (including Fred Rodans and Sue Ann Rordance) warned that the Bates/Estes corridor is narrow, parking and drop-off already create safety and driveway-blocking problems, and adding another school or expanded pickup could worsen hazards. By contrast, residents such as Dylan Shelton urged preserving the neighborhood school and the historic feel, and Mayor Willie Hawkins emphasized focusing on children's needs when weighing options.
Jay Klima of Klima Weeks told the board a traffic consultant has completed background counts and that preliminary results show existing intersection geometry is acceptable in the places surveyed, but the consultant has not yet modeled the incremental effect of adding an elementary school; Klima said the final traffic report is expected next week. Board members requested the full traffic analysis and additional soils/site borings (for alternate-site uncertainty) before making site-selection decisions.
Design teams requested direction from the board on whether to proceed with more detailed design and site investigations for one option or both. No formal decision was made; staff will return with the traffic analysis, refined cost estimates and recommended phasing approaches.
