OTTUMWA —
Seeing a $13 million building’s blueprints is one thing, but finally getting to walk inside is way better.
That was the general feeling expressed by members of the Ottumwa school board this week when they ended their meeting with a tour of the new southside elementary school being built off Mary Street.
Once inside, board member Cindy Kurtz-Hopkins thought the view of rolling fields and at least one barn created a powerful Iowa feeling.
“This is really nice,” she said.
The structure has come a long way from its beginnings as an old farm field. There’s a paved parking lot, several walls and, in places, a roof along parts of the new school.
Though the design appears fairly straightforward on paper, actually being on site was a bit disorientating at first.
The maze of bare metal and concrete made it hard to tell what was what. District Business Manager John Donner gave the tour, explaining the layout as the board moved through the central hallway.
Board member Ron Oswalt commented on how big the center of the building felt. Walking from one end of the main hall to the other was quite a trek, he said.
If the building was thought of as an animal, like a bulldog, that central hall serves as the “backbone” for the structure. Each of the learning community wings, or “pods,” as officials called them Monday, appears like one of the four “legs” on the bulldog.
The dog’s “head” is made up of the biggest common areas, like the gym and cafeteria, along with the main office.
This school is for second- through fifth-grade students on Ottumwa’s south side. It will replace three older schools. Kindergarten and first-graders will go to a different building.
The project is expected to cost $13.3 million, and around 750 students on Ottumwa’s south side will attend. The building itself is 99,000 square feet.
CNHI/Southeast Iowa
Related Photos
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School officials get their first interior look at the new school being built near the intersection of Mary and Ferry streets. Here they are walking down the building’s main hall, which connects the entire school. Mark Newman/The Courier
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Ottumwa board gets look at new school
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