Community celebrates new Lonsdale school

Josh FloryOur Town Leaders

Superintendent Bob Thomas led a happy celebration Monday at a groundbreaking for the replacement Lonsdale Elementary School. The new facility will be 94,400 square feet with a capacity for 800 students.

It is estimated to cost $19.9 million and will be located on the park property adjacent to the existing Lonsdale Elementary School. This project will be constructed using a design-build delivery method with Rouse Construction Company as the contractor. McCarty, Holsaple, McCarty Inc. is the architect.
The building will include:

  • 36 classrooms
  • 4 teacher work areas
  • 2 special education classroom suites
  •  a 7,100-square-foot gymnasium
  • a music room
  • an art room
  • a library
  • a storm shelter that will house approximately 935 occupants, and
  • a 2,000-square-foot recreation center for the city of Knoxville.

This rendering shows the new school, expected to open in fall 2022.

Lonsdale Elementary currently has 322 students and 55 staff. Thirteen languages are spoken by students, according to the school’s website.

In October 2019, the Knox County Board of Education approved a Memorandum of Understanding to transfer the Lonsdale Park property from the city of Knoxville to Knox County, for the purpose of building the new school.

Upon completion of the replacement school, students from Sam E. Hill Primary – which currently serves students in grades Pre-K through first grade – will attend Lonsdale Elementary.

The replacement school will also include a 2,000-square-foot recreation center and office space for the city of Knoxville’s Parks and Recreation Department. Knox County will transfer the Sam E. Hill property to the city of Knoxville.

Josh Flory is a multi-media specialist with Knox County Schools and writes the blog Hall Pass for the KCS website.

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