Does the city have plans for the old Longfellow School building? I would be curious: how much more does the new building provide for space? Is the lawn to the south still going to have soccer fields?
Aaaaalright children, gather around while I roll up my sleeves and give you the lowdown on Longfellow Elementary – both the current and future versions of it.
The short answer to your first question is no. The city does not have plans for the existing Longfellow building.
In fact, part of the agreement between the city and the school district is that the district will demolish the existing building once the students have been transferred to the new school.
The most recent schedule for the project says the current building should be demolished in August 2022.
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If you harbor any deep-seeded sentimentality toward the future pile of brick and mortar, I’d suggest saying goodbyes before it’s too late.
Secondly, yes, the new building will be larger than its current version – twice as large, actually, in terms of student capacity. According to Kevin Holm, an architect with the firm LHB, the current building was built to house 360 students. The new building will have a capacity for 720 students.
During a presentation about the project in August 2020, former Superintendent Michael Muñoz clarified that the school would keep its 45-15 day schedule. Obviously, a few more students will now have access to that option than before.
Finally, yes, there will be soccer fields to the south of the new school building. There will still be six soccer fields after the new school is built, enough for all the screaming parents, sweaty players, and grass-stains one could possibly hope for.
“It’s a good joint use between the district and (the) parks,” Holm said about the soccer fields during the presentation.
