The architectural firm working on the design of the new Athabasca secondary school has released a proposed site footprint for the school grounds.
The architectural firm working on the design of the new Athabasca secondary school has released a proposed site footprint for the school grounds.
According to the Group2 Architecture site footprint, the school will be located on a 20-acre parcel of land west of the Athabasca Regional Multiplex.
The parcel includes the school building, a 400-metre running track, soccer field, student and teacher parking lots and a school bus access road.
Because the bus access road falls within the 20-acre parcel, Aspen View Schools will be responsible for maintaining the road, as well as landscaping the grounds.
“The only really and heavy update is whether the road is part of the project, and now it's part of it, ” noted Athabasca County councillor Larry Armfelt.
County council approved of the site footprint in a motion passed on Aug. 11.
“This is just the next step in the process, ” said Aspen View superintendent Mark Francis. “We've been working on what the school will look like. Now we have more definitive plans of the rough layout of the school and how it will fit on the site. ”
County chief administrative officer Ryan Maier said the footprint design leaves room for a future pool and arena expansion at the Multiplex.
The Ministry of Education is currently reviewing the land transfers needed to secure the spot by the Multiplex.
The land is being transferred between Athabasca University, Aspen View and the Town of Athabasca.
“We are at the point where we're ready to go towards advanced schematics, but we're waiting for the final approval from the province for the land transfer, ” Francis said.
He said he hoped to hear back from the Ministry by September so the school board could move forward with the tendering process in October or November.
“We still have to go back to the public and ask for input and schematics of what the school looks like, what goes in the school, ” he added. “There's a sharing process that has to happen there. ”
Once the transfers are complete, the Town and County would receive a joint title to the land on which the Multiplex sits, as well as all remaining lands outside the school's parcelled section. Currently, that property is leased to the Town and County from Athabasca University.
