Corrales Elementary’s $42 Million Makeover

Published December 24th, 2024 at 9:54 am

In a move to address growing educational needs, Corrales Elementary School is poised for a $42.3 million makeover, transforming the school into a K-8 facility with a capacity of 525 students. 

The project was presented to the Corrales Village Council at the Dec. 10 meeting by architects from Roma Architecture, the firm hired by Albuquerque Public Schools to design the renovation and expansion. Funded by local tax dollars, the project will significantly expand and modernize the campus, with construction set to begin in March.

“The first goal was that the design should reflect the values of that school community,” said Dean Cowdrey, partner at Roma Architecture. “Number two is that the architecture should inspire learning. Number three: The design needs to be thoughtful of the existing context. And lastly — and probably most importantly: We wanted the design to allow the kids to be safe and worry-free.”

According to Cowdrey, the firm collaborated with a design committee for nearly a year to establish overarching goals for the project. The committee included members of the school community, such as the principal, several teachers, a few parents and some students.

The plan includes demolishing the current 1950s building and mini gym, which will be replaced with a dining hall, a playground and a playfield with a track.

The revamped school will span more than 119,000 square feet and incorporate designs that reflect the area’s local character, including adobe walls and coyote fences.

The new dining hall will be located closer to the main campus, replacing the long-covered walkway that previously connected the old cafeteria to the main building. The existing building will be renovated to house administrative offices and kindergarten classrooms, creating a centralized dining area and a dedicated space for the youngest students separate from the older grades, according to Cowdrey.

The project transformation will also include a pocket park along Corrales Road, which APS “sort of dedicated” back to the village, Cowdrey said. 

“We kept coming back again to this beautiful landscape with the shaded trees, the Bosque and the ancient ditch system,” Cowdrey said. “All that we wanted to incorporate somehow as a teaching tool into the campus of the school.” 

The firm integrated the local landscape into the design, creating a “landscaped sanctuary” near the acequia with an outdoor classroom, stone seating, pollinator gardens and a channel leading to a retention pond, Cowdrey said. 

Rainwater from the roof will flow into a retention pond, demonstrating sustainable practices and teaching students about local agriculture and water management, Cowdrey said. This will support local plants, nourish gardens and allow water to percolate into the groundwater supply.

To improve traffic flow and safety while reducing congestion on Corrales Road and Target Road, the student pick-up and drop-off loop will be relocated to the south side of the campus, keeping cars off public roads, Cowdrey said. An extended loop will accommodate parent traffic, while buses will use a separate entrance on the north side of the campus.

Councilor Stuart Murray raised concerns about a potential “single-point failure” in the parent drop-off loop if the entrance or exit were blocked. Cowdrey said the design addresses this issue by including a roll curb at the loop’s end, allowing cars to drive over it to an interior drain that leads back to Target Road.

One of the central components of the expansion is a new 59,000-square-foot, two-story classroom building that will house third through eighth grades. 

Councilors raised concerns about the building’s height and visual impact on neighboring residents. 

Cowdrey acknowledged the concerns but said the height couldn’t be lowered due to space requirements for ductwork and other systems. To address the impact, he said APS added a 6-foot privacy fence along the perimeter, ensured parking lot lights were shielded to prevent light spillover and designed the building’s facade to be visually appealing and scale-friendly.

Councilor Zachary Burkett raised concerns about younger and older students interacting in the new building.

Cowdrey said the K-8 model was influenced by research showing it can reduce bullying and behavioral issues. He noted that a similar prototype developed for APS years ago drew inspiration from Florida’s K-8 system, where studies have shown older and younger students coexist positively, often contradicting assumptions about potential conflicts.

The APS board is scheduled to vote on final project approval in January. If approved, construction will begin in March and take about 24 months to complete. Major work, including the demolition of the 1950s building, is planned for summer months when school is not in session. Completion is anticipated by spring or summer 2027, according to Cowdrey.