CLEVELAND, Tenn. – A plan is in the works to provide more parking and space for vehicles to pick up children for an elementary school planned for Georgetown Road.
In a recent meeting, the Cleveland Board of Education voted 6-0 to approve a property swap that would increase the roadside space in front of the school, located between Cleveland Middle School and Hopewell Elementary School.
“We see it from civil and architectural design as being a really better option,” Upland Design Group consultant Brian Templeton said.
The plan calls for swapping lots with a developer as part of a move that would allow the Tennessee Department of Transportation to create access points to planned development north of the school property and provide 60 more feet of frontage to the school.
Relocating the school’s front property farther south will almost double the stacking space for student dropoff and pickup lanes and ease the coordination of parent and bus traffic, Templeton said.
The redesigned school layout involves aligning the facility’s main entrance and gymnasium along the south side of the school property.
The main building concept will remain the same, with the front door and canopy still being the first impression upon approach, Templeton said.
Other key options are unaffected by the property swap, including the potential to isolate student play areas from vehicular traffic and the ability to dedicate frontage space to geothermal fields, he said.
Board Chairwoman Dawn Robinson praised the benefits of the parcel swap and redesigned layout, citing earlier concerns that a strip mall or other future development might restrict the schools’ view from Georgetown Road.
In other business, the city school board announced that a ribbon-cutting will be held for Cleveland High School’s Raider Arena on April 24 at 4 p.m. The event, which occurs on a Sunday, will be open to the public, board officials said.
Raider Arena, which is in the final phases of construction, replaces the school’s landmark Raider Dome, which was closed in December 2013 after nearly 50 years of service.
The board recently postponed the original April 5 ribbon-cutting to change the surfacing material for the new gymnasium’s elevated walking track. Instead of coating the concrete track in an epoxy paint, the board agreed to use a hardier polyurethane top surface, which requires a two-week curing time in which no foot traffic will be allowed.
On Monday, the Cleveland City Council is scheduled to approve a five-year payment schedule for a $100,000 Bank of Cleveland donation that will enable the city school system to include a fitness center, complete with weight-lifting and card equipment, as part of the new gymnasium’s assets.
Paul Leach is based in Cleveland. Email him at paul.leach.press@gmail.com.