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THE BRUNSWICK SCHOOL DEPARTMENT proposes to tear down Jordan Acres Elementary School, as seen in the photo at the top, in the spring to make way for a new grades pre-k to 2 school on the site at 75 Jordan Avenue, as pictured in the above illustration.
THE BRUNSWICK SCHOOL DEPARTMENT proposes to tear down Jordan Acres Elementary School, as seen in the photo at the top, in the spring to make way for a new grades pre-k to 2 school on the site at 75 Jordan Avenue, as pictured in the above illustration.
BRUNSWICK

The public will weigh in on a proposed new elementary school at the Brunswick Planning Board meeting Tuesday.

A 70,900-square-foot school is bring proposed for construction at the current Jordan Acres Elementary School site at 75 Jordan Ave.

 
 
In June 2017, Brunswick voters approved a $28 million bond to fund a new elementary school, slated to open in September 2020. The school will replace the 62-year-old Coffin Elementary School, which has structural and safety issues.

The new school will serve grades kindergarten to second grade, but can accommodate up to an additional 200 students and two pre-K programs.

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In January, the Planning Board unanimously approved a special permit to allow the proposed 70,900- square-foot footprint; zoning only allows for up to 5,000 square-foot structures at that location.

According to an application submitted by Atlantic Resource Consultants, the school has been broken into smaller components, comprised of common areas and “school houses.” The single-story common areas connect the two-story school houses, designed with low-pitched roofs to reduce their visual scale from Jordan Avenue.

The design team has also proposed using residential scale windows on most of the school exterior. Brick will be used on the lower portion and architectural panels on upper areas of the building, also to help reduce its scale.

According to planning department documents, screening along the property lines has been discussed with neighbors.

A concern discussed during the special permit review in January centered around the planned use of the narrow Charles Court for parents dropping off students, while school buses will use the wider existing entrance.

The 47-year-old Jordan Acres was closed in 2011 after a ceiling beam cracked due to a faulty design connection, according to a 2012 structural engineer’s report connection. The 39,700- square-foot school is slated for demolition this spring to make way for the new school.

The meeting starts at 7 p.m. in council chambers at Town Hall, located at 85 Union St.


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