DACC board to vote on consolidation plans at next meeting

0

The Delaware Area Career Center Board of Education will vote to approve the final design for the center’s consolidated campus at its April 21 meeting.

Representatives of SHP Leading Designs, the architecture firm handling the design of the $45 million project to consolidate both the North and South campuses of the DACC, presented nearly finalized designs to the board at a board work session Wednesday night at the South Campus.

Greg Gaber, managing principal of the SHP Columbus office, and Carrie Malatesta, a representative from SHP, told board members the design has been tweaked in a few minor ways since they presented designs at a meeting in March but for the most part the design was “substantially unchanged.”

The design shows a new wing of the center will be built off of the southern wall of the current South Campus and the new wing will house many of the North Campus programs, like construction and culinary arts.

The biggest difference, Gaber said, was that the new branch of the building has been moved 15 feet east to give the campus about 7,000 square feet it can expand into later if necessary.

Gaber told the board at its March meeting that the consolidated campus would include eliminating the U.S. 23 entrance and exit driveway because of safety concerns. Gaber said the campus will instead gain another driveway connected to Glenn Parkway that would extend from the east parking lot. Gaber told the board one driveway would be used by students and another would be used by buses.

Gaber added that crews had already cleared the trees where the new driveway will be. This was done to remove the trees before Indiana bats migrate to the trees this summer.

At the March meeting, Gaber said they were “very sure” a signal will be required at the intersection between U.S. 23 and Glenn Parkway.

Malatesta detailed the slight tweaks to the consolidated campus’ floor plan and said they were in the process of finalizing details like storage spaces before the design is completed.

Board Vice President Tom Kaelber said he was pleased with design.

“My compliments for all your creativity and work,” Kaelber told the design team.

A preliminary timeline says ground will be broken on the building this fall and construction will begin in the spring of 2017. The consolidated campus is expected to be completed by the second semester of the 2018-19 school year.

The consolidation was originally estimated to cost $35 million. School officials said in December that $37 million had been set aside for the project but they could get a loan to cover the remaining costs.

Greg Gaber, managing principal of the SHP Columbus office, and Carrie Malatesta, a representative from SHP, give a presentation to DACC board member Jim Hildreth, DACC Superintendent Mary Beth Freeman and board President Julie Wagner-Feasel at the work session — as well as other board members not in the photo — Wednesday night.
http://aimmedianetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/40/2016/04/web1_DSC_0754.jpgGreg Gaber, managing principal of the SHP Columbus office, and Carrie Malatesta, a representative from SHP, give a presentation to DACC board member Jim Hildreth, DACC Superintendent Mary Beth Freeman and board President Julie Wagner-Feasel at the work session — as well as other board members not in the photo — Wednesday night. Glenn Battishill | The Gazette

By Glenn Battishill

[email protected]

Glenn Battishill can be reached at 740-413-0903 or on Twitter @BattishillDG.

No posts to display