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  • October 28, 2011

Dramatic changes afoot for Chamblee High - Dunwoody Crier: News: chamblee charter high school, chamblee renovation, dekalb board of education, barbara coleman, new school

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Dramatic changes afoot for Chamblee High

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Posted: Tuesday, October 25, 2011 11:50 am | Updated: 11:54 am, Tue Oct 25, 2011.

New drawings of Chamblee Charter High School show that the current $69 million construction project will dramatically change the face and size of the school located on Chamblee Dunwoody Road.

According to the preliminary site plans and renderings released by the DeKalb Board of Education, the site will be expanded by six acres with the acquisition of the apartments to the south of the school.  Stadium Drive will disappear to make room for a greatly expanded L-shaped building, similar in appearance to Dunwoody High School.   The front of the multi-story school will be mostly glass with metal and brick columns looking out over landscaped plazas and wide tree-lined sidewalks. Buses will be routed to the south side of the building and parent drop-offs to the north side of the school.

“It will be a beautiful school,” said Barbara Coleman who is in charge of construction for the school system.  “We looked at the site, traffic, engineering schematics and collaborated with the city of Chamblee to develop a unique look.”

Chamblee City Manager Niles Ford agreed that the plan meets Chamblee’s goal of developing more pedestrian-friendly streets.  A special City Council meeting was set for Monday night to review and vote on the newly released plans.

“The whole area will be a walkable, friendly area,” said Ford. “ We plan on partnering with the school system to match what they are doing on the other side of the street.”

The site plans show a new L-shaped school, with classrooms in a four-story building facing Chamblee Dunwoody Road.  An elevated bridge will connect the classroom building to a two-story building along Pierce Drive that will contain a new gymnasium, auditorium and natatorium.  A new tree-lined curving drive will lead to a bus drop off and an expanded parking lot that has no tree islands in order to accommodate band practice.  On the north side of the buildings, the boy’s baseball field will be moved some and be rebuilt.  For the first time, the girls will have their own softball field, and a practice field will be built for football, soccer or other activities.  The aging tennis and basketball courts will be rebuilt as well.   

Students will remain on campus throughout the construction period, which will last until the new school opens in August 2013.  Currently, students are in much of the old building as well as 32 mobile classrooms.  The front part of the building is expected to be demolished in January, but the rest of the building will not be torn down until the new building is completed.  Athletic fields won’t be installed until January 2014.  The road leading to the stadium is being redone, but installing artificial turf is the only upgrade planned for the existing stadium, and that proposal is included in the upcoming vote on the education sales tax referendum known as E-SPLOST.

According to school officials, construction is moving along on time and on budget. One negative has been several break-ins of the mobile classrooms over Labor Day and Columbus Day weekends.  According to Walter Woods, director of communications, 12 trailers were broken into, with thieves stealing computers, calculators and other electronic equipment.  Fences and locks have been replaced and silent alarms installed.  A meeting has been held to address concerns over security. 

“We understand the community is frustrated,” said Woods. “We are trying to find ways to replace the items stolen. We are increasing patrols but it’s an ongoing investigation.”

 

© 2011 Dunwoody Crier. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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