Mayor Fenty Breaks Ground on Renovations at Stoddert Elementary School

New Addition to Provide Educational and Recreational Space for Students and Residents

CONTACT:  
Monique Waters (EOM)
(202) 552-8182
Tony Robinson (OPEFM)
(202) 698-7700

Washington, DC — Today, Mayor Adrian M. Fenty, joined by Allen Y. Lew, executive director of the Office of Public Education Facilities Modernization (OPEFM), and Dr. Ximena Hartsock, acting director of the Department of Parks and Recreation (DPR), broke ground on a new $23.3 million modernization project for the student body at Stoddert Elementary School and residents of the Glover Park community.

“For the past year, the Office of Public Education Facilities Modernization has worked with Stoddert to plan this modernization project,” Mayor Fenty said. “Today marks the continuation of the District’s drive to create places of learning and recreation that are truly centers of community.”

The new facility will incorporate a full modernization and renovation of the existing school structure located at 4001 Calvert Street, N.W.  Renovations will include the complete demolition of the old demountable building currently used to house the school’s library and a number of classrooms to make way for a new state-of-the-art, two-story multi-purpose addition.

The new addition will house a gymnasium and community area on the first floor, and administrative spaces for both DCPS and DPR on the second floor.  The project also includes the complete renovation of the athletic field and new playground spaces, a new parking lot for 42 cars and a parent drop-off lay-by area in the front of the school.  

“One of the primary goals of the Master Facility Plan is to leverage our school assets in ways that provide comprehensive services to the larger community,” OPEFM Director Allen Lew said.  “By integrating recreation functions we are able to maximize the site to create a complex that meets the needs of our students academically and physically.”

Stoddert Elementary School was built in 1932 and received an inadequate demountable addition in 1993. Since then, Stoddert has continued to remain severely overcrowded.  Currently, Stoddert Elementary School has 260 students in pre-kindergarten through fifth grade.  The old facility was built to accommodate only approximately 220.  Total upgrades will add approximately 48,000 square feet of space to the school’s total size, and give Stoddert the capacity to accommodate more than 300 students.

“Once completed, the recreational opportunities for the Glover Park community will be significantly enhanced, both indoors and outdoors,” DPR Director Ximena Hartstock said. “The field will have an urban-tolerant turf and irrigation system for the community to utilize. The indoor basketball court, stage and multi-use rooms will allow DPR to expand programming for the neighborhood.”

With an ambitious schedule, the modernized facility is scheduled to open in July 2010. The design has been done by DC-based architecture firm Ehrenkrantz, Eckstus & Kuhn (EEK) Architects and the facility will be built by Whiting-Turner Contracting Company.

“We look forward to a new educational horizon built right around the historic Stoddert structure, one that will embrace our children with state-of-the-art educational experiences,” Stoddert Principal Andriana Kalapothakos said.