Out With the Old: Demolition Makes Way for Renovated Waukee School

From the Waukee School District website

Demolition of the 1917 facility, often referred to as the Old Waukee or Waukee Downtown School, continued last week as giant cranes packed demolition trailers with debris to cart away.

Contractors began by separating the one-story portion from the three-story brick portion. The hard demolition started Feb. 25. During this process they will tear down and remove the entire one-story portion of the building. It is expected for demolition project to take 4-6 weeks to complete.

The school board approved the schematic design for the demolition of the single story portion of the Fourth and Locust facility, along with improvements to the 1917 facility, now named Vince Meyer Learning Center, at the Sept. 10 school board meeting. These improvements will include new windows (respecting the architectural integrity of the existing building), an elevator, new lockers, and some minor HVAC adjustments.

The district updated the HVAC, fire sprinkler and electrical systems in the Vince Meyer Learning Center in 1998. Additionally, the demolition plans for the single story portion will preserve the existing gymnasium and band room and will provide for a newly constructed entrance to the facility that ties it all together.

The budget estimate for this work is $2 million and will be paid for with money generated through the district Physical Plant and Equipment Levy (PPEL). There would be no additional taxes raised or required for this project.

Fifth-graders from Waukee Elementary will attend the Vince Meyer Learning Center in fall of 2013. Waukee Community School District will determine by April 15 whether to assign Eason fifth-graders to Vince Meyer Learning Center. This decision will be dependent upon kindergarten numbers.