An artist rendering of Lincoln Elementary’s possible exterior upon completion.

WARSAW — After nearly a year of discussion and careful planning, Warsaw Community School Corporation is one step closer to bringing its dream of a new Lincoln Elementary and renovated Washington Elementary and Edgewood Middle School to fruition. 

Last month, the school corporation announced Performance Services of Indianapolis as the design-build firm for the project. Today, just a little over a month later, WCS Superintendent Dr. David Hoffert shared artist renderings of the exterior aspect of the project with InkFreeNews.

Though the interiors of the buildings are still under development, Hoffert and Jim LeMasters, former chief of technology and building project supervisor, were able to share images depicting not only the projected look of the buildings, but aerial diagrams demonstrating improved access to the school for both busses and parents.

Though similar routes are shared for Edgewood Middle School, Washington Elementary and Warsaw Community High School, student release time for each school varies. High school students are released at 2:20 p.m., Edgewood students leave school at 2:40 p.m. and Washington students are picked up at 3:40 p.m. LeMasters and Hoffert both noted it is believed the variation in release time will allow for a smooth transition between pick up schedules without congestion becoming an issue.

Additional bus routes and changing the access to Washington Elementary will assist in regulating traffic flow.

LeMasters noted he has made an earnest effort to keep faculty needs paramount in the design of the school. Meeting routinely with principals and teachers, LeMasters has assisted in the creation of collaborative areas within the buildings. LeMasters explained he hopes these spaces, separated by garage doors in the hallway just outside of classrooms, will be able to be utilized in a “maker space” concept.

Hoffert noted though there are certainly some wish list type items staff have mentioned. Each dollar spent has been considered carefully in order to ensure the project meets the expectations of the community. Safety, improved transportation access and structural integrity and functionality are among the top concerns for the project.

According to Hoffert, he hopes to see the interior design layout for each school completed in a few weeks and shovels in the ground yet this season. The timeline for the project, should there be no major delays, would see Washington’s work finished in the fall of 2016 with work on Edgewood and Lincoln completed by fall 2017.