This post was contributed by a community member. The views expressed here are the author's own.

Schools

Breck Plans Expansion

Breck officials take preliminary expansion plan to the Golden Valley Planning Commission.

Breck is looking to expand its current building in Golden Valley. According to plans submitted to the Golden Valley Planning Commission, the private Episcopal school wants to demolish and rebuild the upper school, making it two floors higher than the current building stands now.

“We are very excited about this project,” Breck School Business Manager Wendy Engelman said to the Golden Valley Planning Commission at a recent meeting. “The former Golden Valley High School has served us well for thirty years, but we are ready to make the space more accommodating for our students.”

Engelman says the expansion is not needed for projected enrollment growth at Breck School; it’s needed to keep up with educational demands.

Find out what's happening in Golden Valleywith free, real-time updates from Patch.

“A lot of education is group based now and some of the spaces we have in the school are less than desirable for that setting,” Engelman said. “The building was constructed in the 50s so we need to make some changes to make it fit our changing educational needs.”

According to plans given to the commission, highlights of the expansion include:

Find out what's happening in Golden Valleywith free, real-time updates from Patch.

  • Two additional floors to support Breck’s math and science curriculum
  • Renovated media center that will support increasing use of technology
  • A greater number of smaller classrooms, faculty space and meeting space
  • Two environmentally friendly “green” roofs that will also support science curriculum
  • Consolidation of Upper School administrative services
  • Updated electrical and mechanical systems

At the meeting, some concerns were raised about the new height of the building, which will hit 70ft. Residents were also concerned about construction traffic.

The planning commission unanimously passed the preliminary proposal; the city council will now look over the plans. 

If the expansion is approved and fundraising goals are met, construction could start this summer and wrap up in August of 2013. Engleman says Breck has long range plans to make a similar expansion to its middle school, but says that plan is years away.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

The views expressed in this post are the author's own. Want to post on Patch?

More from Golden Valley