Model School Design

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The City Heights "Model School Design" is a conceptual plan to redevelop an economically challenged area in City Heights using a new elementary school as the cornerstone of the neighborhood. The concept emerged as a result of the San Diego Unified School District's proposal to build a new elementary school in City Heights. Constructing the new school in accordance with the School District's standard blueprint would eliminate between 180 and 250 units of San Diego's most affordable housing stock to accomodate the 6.5 acre school site. In a community that previously lost over 400 units of housing due to other redevelopment efforts, this was an unpalatable result. Price Charities brought several key players to the table, including the School District, the Housing Commission, the Redevelopment Agency and San Diego State University's National Center for the 21st Century Schoolhouse, to discuss the possibility of designing a "new school" that would take up less space, replace the displaced housing units, and provide additional community services on-site.
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Architects developed a new architectural design to reflect the more urban nature of the area.  The new design includes underground parking and multi-story buildings, as well as the integration of community services such as childcare, preschool, and health clinics into the school itself. Additionally, the architects designed replacement housing along the circumference of the school. The various city and state agencies adopted a Joint Powers Authority (JPA) to define their relationships and respective roles should this venture become a reality. Price Charities provided the seed money for the architects to design plans and for the creation of business plans.  It is hoped that someday this model of inner city school and housing development can become reality. 

For more information, please see San Diego Housing Commission's Model School Website.

» Download City Heights Model School Project presentation - (21.88MB)
Note: You will need Microsoft PowerPoint to open this file.

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