Masonry Magazine December 1989 Page. 48
Convert Hospital Into School
continued from page 47
that subtly bring the two buildings together. Sandwiched between the two structures is the old four-story elevator shaft that the architects left standing as a local landmark. The elevator remains functional for the school's two floors and is used by children with disabilities.
Inside, the joining of the two buildings is much less obvious. They are joined at open sections of both buildings. A long ramp from the addition makes an angular yet graceful swatch down towards the first-floor level of the pavilion.
The school's kindergarten is in a third building, a former convent that was built in 1971 and located west of the pavilion. The cluster of inter-locking ground-level apartments, designed for 24 nuns, was converted into classrooms with minimal renovation.
The Hancock Place School District has spent $4.6 million on the new elementary school, but school officials know they got a bargain. The school district obtained the site's 18 acres and three buildings for only $1.5 million.
Though the school district serves a lower middle-income population, its new school facility on 19 rolling acres stands out as one of the better facilities in the region, notes Roger Brodbeck, district superintendent. "We have a school that is typical of the more affluent school districts," he said. "Now there's an opportunity for the kids to do really well."
The closing of St. Mary on the Mount Hospital could not have come at a more opportune time for the school district. Two of its three crowded elementary schools were more than 70 years old, and both were located on busy streets making children fight traffic to go to the playgrounds. One of the major challenges for The Christner
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Partnership was to be able to coordinate the new school construction with the more expensive pavilion building. Typically, local hospital space cost $160 per square foot compared to less than half that amount for school construction. To renovate the existing schools, the district was looking at a cost figure of $4.5 million. But in an unexpected coincidence with the school district's search for a solution to a problem, the local hospital closed its doors and put its buildings and grounds on the market. Hancock secured the property through a special funding program available through the Missouri School Boards Association. To pay back the loan, the community led a spirited and successful campaign to increase the tax levy to $1.25 per $100 property valuation for 16 years.
Hancock Elementary School is now a reality, leaving a satisfied community and grateful teachers. "It's a completely different atmosphere than before now that we don't have to worry about crossing streets and fighting traffic," said Brodbeck.
PCMA Celebrates 20th Anniversary
The evening-Wednesday, September 20. The place- The Sheraton at Harrisburg West, PA. The event a dual celebration for the Pennsylvania Concrete Masonry Association, to reunite everyone involved with the Association over the previous twenty years and a dinner to honor Jim Gianoni, PCMA's Executive Director, after twelve years of continuous service.
Five old timers addressed the Association on what PCMA has meant to them. The list included George Patton, Jr. of Faddis Concrete Products, Marty Gallagher, of Keystone Cement, Wilson DeVecchis, of E. DeVecchis & Sons. John Emich, of Binkley & Ober, and Anthony Fizzano of Fizzano Bros. Concrete Products.