DC’s Department of General Services will present its proposed designs for a new addition to Murch Elementary during a 6 p.m. meeting tonight at the school.
See more of the design at DGS’s Murch Elementary project page (it’s the June 3 presentation).
As you can see, the addition proposed here doubles the school’s footprint at the expense of play space and parking spaces for Murch teachers and staff.
Another potential issue is the impact on traffic. In the morning, most Murch students gather on the playground and then line up with their classmates when it’s time to go inside. Children can now enter the playground from either Davenport or Ellicott. This design limits playground entry to Ellicott Street, and perhaps 36th.
As the Murch renovation and modernization begins the early stages, the Hearst Elementary project is nearing completion. DGS estimates the final addition to the school will be complete in August. This addition includes a gym and a media room.
The addition nearing completion is in the lower right quadrant of this rendering.
Once this is done, DGS will move on to improving the school grounds, including constructing the outdoor amphitheater pictured above. A trailer sits on the site now.