Knox County Schools on August 1, 2022, celebrated a ribbon-cutting for the new Lonsdale Elementary School. The school features a 94,400-square-foot building that includes 36 classrooms, four teacher work areas, two special education classroom suites, a 7,100-square-foot gymnasium, a music room, an art room, a library, and a storm shelter that will house approximately 935 people.
The building will have the capacity for approximately 800 students, and will also be the new school for Pre-K through 1st-grade students from Sam E. Hill Primary School. The building will also house a 2,000-square-foot recreation center and office space for the city of Knoxville’s Parks and Recreation Department.
The project represents a unique partnership between KCS, Knox County and the City of Knoxville. 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.
Approximately 85% of the building is complete and available for occupancy, while the remaining portion is scheduled for completion by Sept. 4. Abatement and demolition of the old Lonsdale Elementary are scheduled to begin in August and the target completion date is Oct. 15. The target completion date for a new parking lot is Nov. 30.
Josh Flory is a multi-media specialist with Knox County Schools and writes this blog, Hall Pass, for the KCS website.