Highland Park ISD releases first look of buildings that’d replace historic elementary schools

A new Bradfield Elementary School would be built, if Highland Park ISD’s $361 bond measure passes (Courtesy of Stantec).

Highland Park ISD released renderings today of three new buildings that would replace historic Park Cities elementary schools if a $361 million bond measure passes Nov. 3.

The three schools — Bradfield Elementary, University Park Elementary and Hyer Elementary — date back to the 1920s and 1940s. They would be demolished and rebuilt as two-story schools to make room for more students. Some parents and preservationists are calling for the old buildings to be saved or incorporated into the new structure.

Click here to see a slideshow of the renderings and current buildings.

Jonathan Aldis, a project director for Stantec, which is designing the new schools, said that each school includes subtle references to the old buildings. For example, some parts of the old buildings, such as 1920s decorative stonework, could be re-used. “The intent is to convey to people that your history is not lost, that there are elements of the buildings that can be reincorporated into the current building without replicating a 1928 elementary school and still honor that look and that aesthetic that the community’s come to expect,” Aldis said. 

School officials sent architectural renderings of the three replacement schools in a district-wide email this afternoon. The renderings were produced by Stantec, which has worked with Highland Park ISD since since 2012. The international design firm has an office in Plano.

The $361 million bond measure is the largest in Highland Park ISD’s 101-year history. It would fund elementary-school construction; renovations at the middle, intermediate and high schools; and new athletic and parking complexes.

Along with rebuilding three elementary schools, Armstrong Elementary School, which opened in 1953, would be renovated. An additional elementary school would go up in Dallas near Northwest Highway. School officials said they will not have a sketch of that school before the election.

Demolition of the three elementary schools is a controversial part of the bond measure. Multiple generations of some Park Cities families have attended the same school and identify with their campus mascot.

Preservation Dallas, a local advocacy group, said the buildings should be preserved because of their historic and architectural value. They listed the schools among this year’s “Most Endangered Places.” Bradfield Elementary and University Park Elementary were designed by Otto Lang and Frank Witchell and built in 1925 and 1928, respectively. Hyer Elementary School, which opened in 1949, was designed by Mark Lemmon.

School district officials and a facilities advisory group of parents, trustees and other community members say the old schools aren’t designed to meet today’s education demands and are too small to accommodate the district’s growing student body. They say new schools will allow for wider hallways, larger classrooms and underground parking garages, without taking up scarce green space used for gym and recess.

Aldis said the new schools would have a traditional look and include room for technology and flexible teaching spaces. “The goal is not to recreate,” he said. “The goal is to the honor the past.”
At Bradfield Elementary, a red roof and courtyard with arches would pick up on the influence of Highland Park Village, the nearby Mediterranean-Spanish style shopping center built in 1931.

The white, ironwork sign at Hyer Elementary that’s a popular photo spot for students on the first day of school would be painted and placed back onto the school’s front lawn. Similar ironwork could be designed for above the door of the new building.

The new University Park Elementary would have a student gathering area around the front lawn’s flagpole, similar to the one at the existing school. But it would also have a ramp that allows wheelchair access.

Preservation Dallas has urged the district to hold onto the facade or the core of the buildings, demolish newer wings and build additions. They pointed to the example of Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing and Visual Arts in downtown Dallas. The old school building, which was designed by the same architect as Bradfield and University Park elementary schools, was preserved when the campus was expanded.

Dallas ISD was required to preserve the building because it is a Dallas landmark. Highland Park and University Park do not have a way to designate buildings as historic landmarks.

Superintendent Tom Trigg said the district told Stantec to design new buildings, but he said he’s heard from people who want the district to preserve some or all of them.

Trigg said he recently asked Stantec to explore whether it could keep the facade or core of a building and add space around it. “No decisions, no guarantees,” Trigg said. “But I think we owe it to the community and to these [preservation-minded] folks to give it an honest look.”

Aldis said the architecture firm has renovated and restored other historic facilities. He cited an addition to the 1917 junior high school in Butler, Pa.; a renovation of the 1926 Norse Auditorium and addition to the Magnet School of the Arts High School in San Francisco (in association with Castro-Blanco Piscioneri & Associates); and a renovation and addition to the Cleveland Institute of Art’s 1913 McCullough Building.

Melissa Repko/The Dallas Morning News