Ridgefield school buildings taking shape

Architects designing $49 million worth of buildings at the Ridgefield School District have released a first look at how the new construction will take shape. But as designs on the bond-funded project come together, school district officials say they’re still looking to cut costs where they can.

Nine months after voters approved a 20-year, $47-million bond package to pay for the bulk of work at three Ridgefield School District campuses, Vancouver-based LSW Architects has released its preliminary designs for the buildings. The architectural schematics and illustrations for the buildings are the next steps toward breaking ground, expected to take place during late spring.

Architects plan to complete their design phase by January, but the project remains over budget, Superintendent Art Edgerly said.

In the next month, district officials and construction managers with Triplett-Wellman Construction and Ketchum Enterprises will work to decrease costs. Edgerly didn’t elaborate on the costs but said project managers will be able to tweak details of the buildings to make them cheaper to build.

After years of work and uncertainty, the project is coming together, Olson said.

“We’re pretty excited by what we’re seeing so far,” she said.

Olson said the designs will allow contractors to “maximize dollars” during the construction phase by swapping out more costly building supplies with cheaper ones.

Combined, the projects promise to piece together an ambitious overhaul of the district’s campuses: Plans call for building a new multipurpose facility at Ridgefield High School, as well as new buildings for South Ridge Elementary School and Union Ridge Elementary/View Ridge Middle School.

What that means for the district will be two new gyms, a new cafeteria and more space for music classes. At the high school, the multipurpose building would include classrooms in a pod-like configuration, a design characteristic Edgerly said would improve classroom collaboration.

The high school’s athletics facilities will also undergo an overhaul with the installation of a synthetic turf field that can be used for soccer and football, and a resurfaced track with improved lighting.