The FISD board of trustees on Jan. 11 received a presentation from Konrad Judd, chief design officer with architecture firm Huckabee. The presentation shared renderings, floor plans and a construction schedule for the facility at 9889 Wade Blvd.
The project is included in the district’s voter-approved 2018 bond program. The cost in 2018 was projected to be $21 million in order to allow about 1,000 additional students per day to take classes at the center and expand programming, the district’s website states.
The existing building will be expanded to include a single-story addition on the southwest side. Also included in expansion plans are a two-story tornado shelter on the southeast side that will be surrounded by new single-story space.
The southwest addition will feature expanded space for the district’s veterinary medicine program, according to the presentation. The southwest addition will also add classroom space.
In the new southeastern space, a two-story circulation space between the existing building and addition will aim to “provide a smooth transition while maintaining the existing south facade,” according to the presentation. A mixture of architecture, graphics, animation, e-sports and AI labs will be included throughout the addition.
Renovation work on the first and second floors of the existing building space are also included in Huckabee’s plans, which will add more space for health science studies.
“There is a need for tech centers, a need for programs that are already in place, and there is a need for future programs,” Judd said. “What was really nice in terms of developing this ... This triggers initial conversations with your staff and your peers, and including students.”
The parking lot on the southeast side of the building along Ohio Drive will be removed for the new addition, reducing the parking capacity from 787 to 673 spaces.
“Due to excess parking per code requirements on the site, these parking spaces will not be replaced,” the presentation states.
Construction is expected to last from August to May 2024, according to the presentation.
