|
|||||||||||||
Printer-Friendly
Email this Story
Post a Comment (0)
Wakefield campus takes careful steps in growth
Many public and private schools are fortunate to receive donations of land for their establishment or expansion, but few have a continued collaborative partnership with their donor. Wakefield Schools in The Plains is one of the exceptions.
Recently, Wakefield was on the receiving end of a 12-acre donation from neighbor Andrea Currier, the previous owner of the 50 acres on which the school resides. All of the Wakefield property was part of 1,500 acres known as Archwood Farms.
Wakefield originally was established in 1972 in Huntley. The school purchased 50 acres in The Plains in 1993. Archwood House was renovated from a residence into an administrative center for the school.
Wakefield expanded from its first academic building in 1996. That building is now the lower school. A gymnasium, playing fields, upper school building and library were later added. In 2001, the arts and music building was opened, along with a new preschool playground.
The school expansion continued with an upper school gym, tennis courts, lower school playground. The science, technology and library building, a 20,000 square foot, two-story building, is the latest building completed. Not only did this new addition provide well-equipped science labs and multi-media rooms, it freed up space for other classroom needs in the lower school.
Currier takes an active interest in the land's use, and, according to Headmaster Peter Quinn, works closely with the school on its construction plans.
The donated land, made possible through The Plains Redevelopment Corp., will be used to develop the school's campus, while minimizing the visual impact on the area overlooking the Bull Run Mountains to the east and the Blue Ridge Mountains to the west.
Earl Douple, business manager for the corporation and of Archwood Farms, said that through a cooperative effort Currier has been able to give input into Wakefield's master plan and help shape the perception of the school in the community.
Plans for the near future include relocating the upper school and adding a theater, field house and student commons. The latest gifted land, adjacent to the campus, will be used for general-purpose fields for sports — lacrosse, field hockey and track.
Douple said that Currier and the corporation had particular interest in two related items on the 12 acres it has donated and the 50 acres it sold to Wakefield. Lighting of the campus is of one of the main concerns.
Emphasis is placed on containing the external and interior lighting of the school so that it stays on campus. This includes lights on pathways, parking lots, playing fields and buildings.
Other visual impacts, due to the school's topographical elevation, are a second concern. The corporation is assisting the school in planning new construction that minimizes them. Douple specifically mentioned that the new playing fields will be placed in the “least intrusive” area.
“Our students continue to appreciate the vistas that our campus enjoys which conservationists, county and community planners and philanthropy have made possible,” Quinn said,
E-mail the reporter: afelts@timespapers.com.
You must be logged in to post a comment.