Design concepts for two new prefabricated additions to Blue Mountain Elementary and Golden Ears Elementary have been released to the public.
The use of prefabricated construction means students will soon be learning in modern classrooms that look just like regular schools, explained the Maple Ridge Pitt Meadows School District.
A statement from the Ministry of Infrastructure and the Ministry of Education and Child Care noted that the province has provided $19.5 million in funding for the two prefab additions.
"Prefabricated additions get students into new classrooms faster than traditional buildings, while offering the same lifespan and comforts of a traditional school environment," stated the ministries.
A five-classroom prefabricated addition is being planned for Blue Mountain Elementary.
The new single storey structure will be located just behind the school at the south west corner and will include a new expanded parking area.
A conceptual site plan on the school district website currently shows one building, but it has been designed to accommodate a similar structure to the north of the new building in the future.
The five new classrooms will add 120 student seats, increasing capacity at the school to 440 students.
And, according to the school district, the estimated capital cost of the addition is $7.5 million, including risk reserves.
At Golden Ears Elementary, a two storey structure is being planned with eight new classrooms at the south end of the current building.
To accommodate the construction, one portable has already been relocated to the north side of the school. Two older playgrounds will be removed to make room for the addition and an expanded parking area.
Once construction is complete and two of the four remaining portables are removed, the playgrounds will be replaced with a new playground in the southeast corner.
A basketball area is also going to be replaced.
This addition will increase student seats at the school by 195, bringing the school's capacity to 710 students.
The estimated capital cost of this addition is $12 million, including risk reserves.
The Ministry of Education and Child Care (MECC) announced it would fund both additions in September 2024.
The designs are both sustainable and energy-efficient and the additions also align with the Province’s CleanBC targets and meets B.C.’s enhanced energy requirements.
Construction is expected to go to tender in late April 2025, and the projects are both expected to be completed in early 2026 and ready to be occupied by students in September that same year.
Meanwhile, in the most recent SD42 update on the new Eric Langton Elementary School Project, the district noted excavation work is almost complete and the site is almost ready to put in the foundation for the new building.
Currently construction crews are excavating to lay out the underground utilities and services for things like sewer, water, electrical and data lines.
Concrete shear walls have also been erected on the site which will provide seismic restraint and will limit building movement during earthquakes.
All of the shear walls are expected to be in place by mid-January, according to the school district, when structural steel work is set to begin.
The steel superstructure will connect to the shear walls to provide support for the floors, walls, and roof.
The new school will have a capacity for 680 students – an additional 215 seats – an is expected to cost $48.9 million with the province contributing $46.4 million and the other $2.5 million coming from the Maple Ridge Pitt Meadows School District.
Katzie First Nation has also been brought into the design process to advise on elements that reflect the Indigenous ways of knowing, like the importance of storytelling, traditional ecological knowledge, and local teachings, in order to establish a connection between the school and the land.
The school is going to be built to LEED gold standards, Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, a globally recognized certification.
A neighbourhood learning centre will also be included in the seismic replacement and expansion project, which will be used to provide services, such as child care, and for community groups to deliver support services and programming in Maple Ridge.
In a video posted just before Christmas school principal Kyla Cameron and vice principal Meghan Murden donned virtual reality goggles, and took a virtual tour of the new building.
"Oh my goodness, the view is beautiful," said Murden, while checking out a primary classroom.