SALISBURY – School officials in Wicomico County last week reviewed construction documents for a new elementary school in Salisbury.
In a work session last week, officials with Wicomico County Public Schools presented the Board of Education with construction documents for a new Beaver Run Elementary School.
Leisl Ashby, the school system’s director of facility services and planning and construction, said a review of the construction documents comes nearly a year after staff presented the board with design development documents.
“I think it’s been a year since design development, so a lot of work has taken place,” she said. “We are very excited with where we are at. Budgets are looking good.”
Jeff Hagan of the architecture firm Hord Coplan Macht said the construction documents must receive the approval of the school board before they are submitted to the state. If the state approves the documents, the bidding phase of the Beaver Run project will begin later this year.
“It will allow us to go into bidding this fall and get this project under construction in the very near future,” he said.
Plans for the new 98,000-square-foot facility include space for 30 classrooms and special education instruction at the back of the school and a cafeteria, gymnasium, office, media center and state wellness center – a health center located in the school to provide onsite health services – in the front.
Board members last week also got a better idea of the facility’s interior design. Ashby said the materials used inside the building – from the acoustical panels to the seating – are simple, functional and decorative.
“There are really subtle but nice things throughout the building,” she said.
The school’s exterior will also feature design elements, such as metal siding and stone, which complement the buildings found at the nearby WinterPlace Park complex.
“This will help fit the building into the context of the local community,” Hagan said.
Officials estimate construction of the new school will begin early next year and conclude in the summer of 2022. The new Beaver Run is expected to open in the fall of 2022.
“We’ll be constructing this while the existing Beaver Run is in operation,” Hagan said. “We are building behind it.”
