The same architect used for the construction of Gibsons Elementary School has been hired to oversee the West Sechelt Elementary school expansion.
M3 Architecture was awarded the contract through a posting on BC Bid, with Patrick May named architect. Jim Alkins, who also worked on the Gibsons Elementary project, has been hired as the project manager.
The project committee, which includes Alkins, May and School District No. 46 (SD46) secretary-treasurer Nicholas Weswick, among others, met “to look at site configuration and blocking of areas in the school,” Weswick told trustees during a project update at a Jan. 8 school board meeting.
“We’re looking forward to working with them to develop the design and once we have a concept drawing or a couple of drawings at least, we’ll bring that forward and continue to update the operations committee as well as working with the school staff and PAC,” he said.
The $11.2-million expansion, announced last December, will remove the school’s five portables and replace them with six classrooms, as well as add a child care centre and an expanded multipurpose room for use as a Neighbourhood Learning Centre (NLC), according SD46 operations committee notes.
A sprinkler system is being added to the project list, as requested by the District of Sechelt, so that it aligns with the newly revised BC Fire Code. The district has also requested additional parking spaces at the site and improvements to Mason Road. The relocation of an outdoor “hard surface play area” is also expected.
The expansion will be built in phases, “to lesson the impact on the school community,” according to the operations committee notes.
A more detailed timeline was also revealed at the committee, with the classrooms set for completion by April 2021.
