Conceptual Site Plan of Austin Elementary School At Dunwoody Park
On Monday, the DeKalb Schools Board unanimously approved an Inter-Governmental Agreement (IGA) for the purchase, sale and exchange of land with the City of Dunwoody. After everything is said and done, DeKalb Schools will pay the City of Dunwoody $3.6 million.
City of Dunwoody Land
• Dunwoody Park – 10.28 acres
DeKalb Schools Land
• Current Austin ES site – 9.8 acres
• Peachtree Charter MS (PCMS) fields – 7.98 acres
DeKalb Schools intends to construct a new prototypical 900 seat elementary school at Dunwoody Park to replace the current Austin Elementary School. The City will construct replacement baseball fields for Dunwoody Senior Baseball on the PCMS Property. At least one of the ball field sites will be available to the city at all times.
January 20, 2017, is the expected closing date. The new ball fields should be constructed within 8 months of closing, September 1, 2017, and the Austin ES is expected to be completed by Aug. 31, 2019.
Conceptual Site Plan of Ball Fields & Classroom Additions at Peahctree Charter Middle School
Note: The blue section, which is currently a grassy knoll, is a proposed 3 story 26 classroom addition.
Shared Fields and Parking
The city and school district will share fields, the track area and parking at PCMS. The city will fix, improve and maintain the football field and track area.
The city will have access to the football field and track area after school hours. The school district will have access to the baseball fields during school hours.
IGA Between DeKalb Schools and The City of Dunwoody
Timeline
October 2016 – The City of Dunwoody needs to issue a Letter Of Intent, hold at least one public hearing and publicly vote on the IGA.
January 20, 2017, is the expected closing date. The new ball fields should be constructed within 8 months of closing, September 1, 2017, and the Austin ES is expected to be completed by Aug. 31, 2019.
Doug Thompson
Dunwoody
City Council
“As Dunwoody and the DeKalb County BOE move forward to finalize the agreement, several public meetings will be held. Residents and interested community members are invited to learn more at the following events:
• Public Information Meeting: Monday, October 17, 2016, 6 p.m. at Dunwoody City Hall
(41 Perimeter Center East, Suite 103, Dunwoody, GA 30346)
• City Council Meeting: Monday, October 24, 2016, 6 p.m. at Dunwoody City Hall
(41 Perimeter Center East, Suite 103, Dunwoody, GA 30346)
• Public Information Meeting: Tuesday, October 25, 2016, 6 p.m. at Dunwoody City Hall
(41 Perimeter Center East, Suite 103, Dunwoody, GA 30346)
• City Council Meeting: Monday, November 14, 2016, 6 p.m. at Dunwoody City Hall
(41 Perimeter Center East, Suite 103, Dunwoody, GA 30346)”
“Extremism in defense of liberty is no vice. Moderation in pursuit of justice is no virtue.”
Is a more legible version of the conceptual site plan available online somewhere? It would be interesting to review.
I smell a costly lawsuit coming.
Why do you say that? What laws were broken?
I think this is a win for both the city and the school system-
1. Austin gets rebuilt on Roberts Drive as people wanted without having to move offsite;
2. PCMS’s athletic fields are going to get a serious upgrade and will be better utilized by the school and the city (during non-school hours). These fields will also abut Brook Run, where I suspect more fields are about to get built; and
3. The city gets the current Austin site in the deal and can build a park on the North side of the city, which is woefully underserved by the Parks Department.
Looks nice but should have included a soccer field. Baseball is attracting less kids and soccer is growing faster than any other sport.
This is a replacement for the baseball fields that currently exist at the site Austin ES is moving to.
Soccer is growing? So is NASCAR.
As Dunwoody and the DeKalb County BOE move forward to finalize the agreement, several public meetings will be held. Residents and interested community members are invited to learn more at the following events:
• Public Information Meeting: Monday, October 17, 2016, 6 p.m. at Dunwoody City Hall
(41 Perimeter Center East, Suite 103, Dunwoody, GA 30346)
• City Council Meeting: Monday, October 24, 2016, 6 p.m. at Dunwoody City Hall
(41 Perimeter Center East, Suite 103, Dunwoody, GA 30346)
• Public Information Meeting: Tuesday, October 25, 2016, 6 p.m. at Dunwoody City Hall
(41 Perimeter Center East, Suite 103, Dunwoody, GA 30346)
• City Council Meeting: Monday, November 14, 2016, 6 p.m. at Dunwoody City Hall
(41 Perimeter Center East, Suite 103, Dunwoody, GA 30346)
In looking at the conceptual design, I love that Dunwoody Nature Center will have access to the Austin play fields during summer months. This will maximize the use of the fields and available green space for the community and the Nature Center’s valuable summer programming. In addition, the school will have access to the Nature Center for educational purposes during the year, which is wonderful.
Combining that with the dual use baseball fields at PCMS, this shows real collaboration between DCSD and the City of Dunwoody. And it maximizes the impact of public lands for the entire community, which is especially important as the city will continue to grow and become more dense. This looks like government actually working to me!
The Dunwoody Nature Center and its Board of Directors have developed our strategic plan through the year 2020 with the potential Austin move in mind. Our plans for growth ensure that we are better positioned to serve Austin in its new location, as well as the surrounding community.
We are excited about the opportunity to work with the DeKalb County Board of Education and Austin Elementary in particular as they transition to Dunwoody Park. We have a long history of partnership with Austin from our tree house installation and gardening program to our upcoming Art in the Park event and are looking forward to expanding upon what we have already built. As the Nature Center continues to grow, we are happy to have the Austin community as a part of our mission of inspiring a love of nature and cultivating environmental understanding and stewardship.