THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, September 29, 1995 TAG: 9509270153
SECTION: CHESAPEAKE CLIPPER PAGE: 09 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY ELIZABETH THIEL, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Short : 47 lines
They weren't sure it would work.
But school officials and architects have found a way to save and improve the old Norfolk Highlands Primary School building.
The School Board gave the nod Monday night to preliminary plans for extensive renovations and additions to the facility. The school will get an exterior face lift, new classrooms, a bigger and better cafeteria, a new auditorium/gymnasium, better office space and advanced technology.
Construction is scheduled to begin next fall, if City Council approves the $5.7 million needed for the project. The School Board included it in the five-year Capital Improvement Plan, which now is being submitted to city officials for consideration.
The building desperately needs work. The original structure was built in 1913, with additions in 1939 and 1952.
An example of the building's state is that there are no adult bathrooms, said architect Howard Collins, with the firm Ballou, Justice & Upton in Norfolk. Adults must use the children's restrooms.
``We've either got to renovate it . . . or demolish it,'' said Superintendent W. Randolph Nichols.
Demolition would not be popular with the community, Nichols said.
Originally, school officials feared that would be their only option.
The school is on a five-acre site, tiny by state standards. Elementary schools now typically have at least 15 acres. State officials were reluctant to approve an expansion of a school on a site that was already below standards.
But architects negotiated with state officials and came up with a renovation plan that would improve the building and add more space without significantly increasing the number of students who would attend the school.
Norfolk Highlands now has about 300 students. After the renovation, the school will be able to house about 375.
Nichols said Norfolk Highlands students will move to the old Truitt Middle School building during the construction. Truitt is scheduled to get a face lift of its own this year.
KEYWORDS: CHESAPEAKE SCHOOLS CHESAPEAKE SCHOOL BOARD by CNB