RWA was selected by the School District of Lee County to provide professional site planning, pre-design survey, civil engineering design, site permitting, construction plan preparation, construction stake out, and construction administration services for the construction of a 1,000 student seat prototype Elementary School located in Lehigh Acres, Florida. The total building square footage is 127,773 square feet with associated parking, bus pick-up/drop-off and circulation areas, athletic fields and stormwater management. The project was designed and permitted at the end of 2008 and is now awaiting funding to proceed with construction which is anticipated in 2010.
The project required extensive coordination with the prototype architect to determine the most efficient use of the irregularly-shaped 16.42 acre site. The site had to accommodate the District’s desired vehicular patterns and outdoor recreation needs while also complying with the latest security measures for this type of sensitive facility. The project was located at the outer fringe of the existing utility services area and therefore necessitated the development of off-site sanitary sewer and potable water service improvements. The projects also required road widening and turn lane design for the unique traffic patterns that this type of facility generates.
Site planning required the establishment of a gopher tortoise preserve area within the indigenous areas for the protection and relocation of this endangered species within the site. Shared access with a commercial area along the northern border was needed to allow for the separation of school bus traffic from the delivery and teacher/parent parking areas. The site location posed several challenges due to its location within the urban fringe and the residential development that surrounded three sides of the property. These challenges included the situation of the indigenous preserve areas for plant and wildlife preservation, as well as the screening of the two-story structure, ancillary buildings and recreational areas. Close coordination with the landscape architect was necessary to provide the required screening. The screening was accomplished with a combination of berms, walls, supplemental plantings with the preserves, removal of exotic plant species, and an extensive planting plan.
Another challenge during permitting was the impact the stormwater leaving the site would have on the surrounding area. Persistent regional drainage issues were mitigated through the design of a zero discharge system with a bleed-down structure. Incorporating this design into the site planning was critical for efficient use of this site. The total construction cost for this project is $19.6 million.
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