SIOUX CITY | Blue and green stripes above the basketball hoops in the progressing Perry Creek Elementary building gym represent the unification of three Sioux City elementary schools.
In the fall, students from Clark, Crescent Park and Lincoln elementary schools will attend the brand new school building located at 36th Street and Hamilton Boulevard.
Principal Amy Denney said the schools’ colors represent its status as a feeder school to the North and West school systems.
“This is such an exciting time…for our district, our community and our staff,” she said.
The 112,000-square-foot building is progressing on schedule, said Martin Ferdig, contract administrator for Architecture by Design, Inc. Nearly 75 percent of the building is complete, including the majority of the painting and ceiling work.
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Flooring will be installed throughout the early spring; a basketball floor also will be added then.
Brian Fahrendholz, operations and maintenance director for the district, said the contracted completion date is scheduled for July 1 and said the building is well on pace to be finished by then. He added “there is no doubt” that students will begin the next school year in the new building.
“From a district standpoint, we are very excited with the plan and the progress and now anticipate a new building being ready for students in August,” he said.
Perry Creek will house 650 students from grades one through five, with the potential to expand the design for an enrollment up to 850 students in the future.
Fahrendholz said plans have mostly been followed to the letter and executed without issue. The front entrance was modified for security purposes. Visitors must “buzz” in to be allowed inside and are directed into the main office before they can gain access into the school. Fahrendholz said the new elementary schools contain the security feature and several existing ones will soon be renovated to include it as well.
Included in the project’s $22-plus million price tag are $1.7 million in improvements to the existing Clark building. Dubbed the M.G. Clark Early Childhood Center, the building will now serve as preschool, transitional kindergarten and kindergarten.
Improvements include new windows, doors, an entryway, a security vestibule, a new boiler and air conditioning in each classroom.
Denney said she’s thrilled to see the building go from an idea on paper to a physical structure.
The building, she said, will include dedicated spaces for art, music and physical education, as well as extended learning centers to enhance academic programs for all age groups.
Denney said students have expressed excitement in the building’s location, which offers grass patches for games during recess.
Overall, she said, the building represents a new era in the school district and an exciting time for students from all three schools.
“It’s been an amazing process and I truly feel we have the best team of people working on it,” she said. “I’m so excited to get everyone under one roof.”
