TBO.com - TBO is Tampa Bay Online

School Expanding Recreational Facilities

ADVERTISEMENT

By ELIZABETH LEE BROWN

The Tampa Tribune

Published: July 5, 2008

CARROLLWOOD - CARROLLWOOD - A $1 million expansion of the recreational facilities at Carrollwood Elementary School is expected to begin in the next two weeks.

Hillsborough County's parks department already has relocated children in the summer program to the nearby Roy Haynes Recreation Center.

A handful of county and school officials attended a ground-breaking ceremony on Monday beneath the school's covered play court on McFarland Road.

Kalemeris Construction will build the joint project between the county and school district, with completion scheduled by Nov. 1, said Celeste Valdez, president of the construction company.

Working with the school speeds up the construction timetable because the district has its own permitting agent, said Cathy Valdes, the district's chief facilities officer.

The project will add two 1,700-square-foot buildings adjacent to the school's existing 8,000-square-foot covered courtyard and a covered walkway to the pavilion. The design will be a model at other parks and schools, Valdes said.

The county money was set aside for the Citrus Park civic center before the project was frozen because of budget cuts.

Under the partnership, the district will be responsible for daily upkeep, while the county will handle the preventive maintenance and major replacement costs.

Carrollwood Elementary Principal Susan Avery said the buildings will not be used for classrooms but as offices for physical education teachers, storage, and for non-classroom-related school events.

Every classroom is in use now, and when the school holds special events, such as picture day, classes have to double up to make room, she said.

"All day long, any time we have an event that we need a room for, we're inconveniencing teachers," Avery said.

The additional space will allow up to 125 children in the county-run after-school program, up from the existing 75 students with another 75 students on the waiting list. Capacity for the summer program would increase to 175 children.

Reporter Elizabeth Lee Brown can be reached at (813) 865-1502 or ebrown@tampatrib.com.

Share this:

Loading Comments...

Email Print

ADVERTISEMENT