Germantown Elementary Update - Moving Forward

Plans for the new Germantown Elementary School are moving forward. Recently I participated in a meeting with House Speaker Mike Busch, Principal Walter Reap and several other stakeholders to revisit the agreement for use of the athletic fields behind Germantown. This athletic complex is a perfect example of how projects in Annapolis often involve multiple levels of government. The construction, use and maintenance of these fields are a joint effort among the City of Annapolis, Anne Arundel County, AACPS and the State of Maryland. Fortunately, this example is a positive one of how these levels of government can work together successfully.

Anne Arundel County Public Schools (AACPS) has retained an architectural firm for the Germantown Project. The firm has produced a new site plan for the fields and floor plan for the new school (the current site plan is HERE). AAPCS will construct a completely new school at the west end of the athletic complex. The school will be designed with all the modern bells and whistles including an expanded gym, and will become a real gem of the Annapolis school system.

Vehicles will access the school from Windell Avenue, not Cedar Park Road. To improve safety, there will be separate entrances for school buses and for personal vehicles.

Many people ask me about whether the Poplar Trail will still connect through to Windell Avenue. The answer is yes, the trail will be relocated adjacent to the new bus access road, and in fact that segment will gain a couple of more feet in width.

Timeline

The Germantown project is the first of three related projects for Annapolis area schools that need to happen in sequence. Construction for the new Germantown school is anticipated to begin Spring 2010. The new school is expected to open in August 2011 in time for the start of the 2011-2012 school year.

The second project is to relocate the Phoenix Center. This project is contingent upon receiving local and state approval and funding. If this project is approved and funded, once the new Germantown is built, AACPS will renovate the old (current) Germantown. This building will become the new, larger home for the Phoenix Center which is presently at the other corner of the athletic complex.

The third project is to renovate Annapolis Elementary School. Again, pending approval and funding, once the Phoenix Center students move into the old Germantown building, the administrative staff at the Board of Education (Green Street) building downtown next to Annapolis Elementary will move to occupy the old (current) Phoenix Center. AACPS will then relocate the students at Annapolis Elementary in order to complete a massive renovation and upgrade to the school. The project will combine the current Annapolis Elementary building with the administration building to result in a new school with expanded capacity and upgraded facilities that meet current building codes.

For more information

Mary Patz, an architect in AACPS' Design Department, is the primary contact person for the Germantown project. She can be reached at 443-770-5966 or by email at mpatz [at] aacps.org.