New, Revised GES

At Tuesday night’s Special School Board Meeting, the Board and the public were provided with a first look at a redesigned Goochland Elementary School. The redesign is a result of cost estimates that exceeded allocated funds.

While it’s early in the redesign process and schematics are still in development, the Board was presented with draft floor plans that consolidated the building’s footprint while keeping the vision for the school intact. “We are focused on designing a building that is more cost-effective without compromising programs,” Bill Bradley, Ph.D., principal architect at Stantec, said.

The new design for Goochland Elementary is two stories and includes the same size gym and classrooms as the original design for the new elementary school building. The gym is middle-school-sized and will be available for junior varsity practices and Parks & Recreation evening programs. Most importantly, the redesign fits on the site, with ample ingress/regress and parking, but would require a smaller foundation and less site disturbance.

To move the process forward, next steps include drafting the building exterior, reviewing new design plans with school staff to ensure functionality, and value engineering. “When faced with potential cost overruns, we did our due diligence and reviewed our options – including looking for a new building site, renovating the current building, building on the current GES site, or revising the building’s design,” GCPS Superintendent Jeremy Raley, Ed.D., said. “Time is of the essence on this project and if we slow down, opening in August 2024 will be in jeopardy.”

The Board will review more-detailed plans as well as updated pricing at a joint, public work session with the Goochland County Board of Supervisors at 3:00 p.m. on April 12.  The meeting will be live-streamed on the county’s website.