CORNERSTONE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL | NEW CONSTRUCTION

Location: Excelsior Springs School District

Size: 72,500 sf

cost: $16,500,000

The original Westview Elementary School built in the 1960’s posed a few issues. The school had two of the main classroom wings at the back of the building that were only accessible by walking into the school through the front of the building and back outside to get to the classrooms. The solution years later was to add a narrow corridor. In addition, classroom wings were in bad shape, but the front of the school, built in the early 2000’s was worth saving. The solution was to demo the back of the building, convert the front of the building into an early childhood center, and build a new elementary school which would become Cornerstone Elementary.

To build Cornerstone Elementary the design team made use of a piece of land that the Excelsior Springs School District already owned. A cost-saving solution was to utilize the land’s topography by building on the hillside. The main entry is accessible on the upper level, and the back entry leads into the first floor.

The building includes a new music room, art room, gymnasium, cafeteria, media center, administrative office, and miscellaneous building and staff support areas such as a teacher work room, storage space, and toilet rooms.

Classroom spaces include Core Learning Spaces – 26 total learning spaces with an ideal capacity of 582 students, and Special Education – 3 total learning (2 resource rooms and one life skills room), a counseling suite, and miscellaneous support facilities. The forward-thinking design addresses the needs of learners and provides the flexibility to adapt to new advancements in education techniques.

This project was completed for the start of the 2021/2022 school year.

In addition to Cornerstone Elementary, iDS also completed or is in the process of completing renovations at Excelsior Springs High School, Elkhorn Elementary, Excelsior Springs Early Childhood Center, Excelsior Springs Middle School, and baseball and softball field improvements.