Updated Crabapple Middle School Design Approved By Fulton Schools

ROSWELL, Ga. — The Fulton County Board of Education has approved the new design for Crabapple Middle School with an opening date of 2021.

The board approved at its May 16 meeting a proposal from Evergreen Construction for $42,855,640 which includes the construction base offer, selected alternates and contingency. The district said this project is included in the Capital Plan 2022.

The project scope includes construction of a 189,764 square foot school building, about 66,000 square feet larger than the current school with site work including: utilities, circulation, parking lots, a ball field and landscaping. The work on this project will be completed by June 2021.

SPLOST, the one-penny education sales tax, calls for a replacement Crabapple Middle School. Originally, the plan was for the school to be rebuilt on its current site. However, Fulton County Schools began considering additional options in spring 2018 due to construction challenges. These included site work complications related to building over a stream on the existing property as well as challenges with the three-year phasing plan that would keep students and staff on the site while the new school was built. These increased costs led the school district to reconsider other options and place the project temporarily on hold.

A 29-acre parcel of available land was identified on Woodstock Road near the intersection of Jones Road, and will become the new location for Crabapple Middle School. This new location reduces construction challenges and eliminates the disruption that could occur during phasing and trying to build while students and staff are on the current site. It is expected that the school will continue with its original opening timeline of August 2021.

The new Crabapple will have 76 instructional units as well as the traditional cafeteria and gymnasium found in middle schools. The school also will have a technology-focused media center similar to that at Roswell High School as well as innovative collaboration spaces for students and staff. Outside features include a playfield and track, two basketball courts, and four tennis courts.

Originally, the plan called for a three-year phasing approach that required construction to occur while students and staff were on the current Crabapple Road site. Since the school will be built on a different site, a phasing approach is no longer needed. This allows it to be built within two years and still open by the 2021-22 school year.