Construction Planned for Leyden

Construction+Planned+for+Leyden

Robert Gussy, Social Media and Maketing Manager

In the next couple years, East Leyden may change drastically.  There is a huge renovation project planned for different parts of East and the Courtyard of West. “This would be the largest project in Leyden’s lifetime,” superintendent Dr. Nick Polyak stated. He and others from Leyden are meeting with architects to plan this project that could range in cost from eighty to one-hundred million dollars and would be finished in 2019 or 2020.”These projects are designed to improve educational opportunities for our students and to address sustainability needs for the next 50 years at Leyden,” Dr. Polyak said.

At East, the district plans to use Dodge Field, which is less needed due to the new fields on Rose Street, to construct a new cafeteria, pool, daycare, band and choir area, and so much more. There would be a horseshoe shaped addition creating a courtyard that would be surrounded by the pool, the cafeteria, daycare center, the kitchen and the band and choir area.

One of the biggest changes is the cafeteria, and it has the potential to impact our instruction. “Because the cafeteria is going to be a lot bigger, it’s going to cut the schedule into about 3 lunch periods,” Dr. Polyak said, explaining that this will give students a longer lunch period and will get rid of split periods. The cafeteria would have two levels and will feature different types of seating. It will have tables of four, taller tables, counter seating with power outlets on the first floor and couches/chairs upstairs. The main entrees will be be sold on the first floor, and the snack-bar will be on the second.   The current cafeteria will be replaced with the math and writing centers.

Another big change is going to be the pool. Plans currently show an eight lane pool instead of the current five lane pool. A larger pool would allow Leyden to create a water polo team and make it more useful locally for swim lessons. This building would have windows bringing in daylight, making it a better swimming environment rather than the darker lighting that the pool has now. “The current pool would be filled with concrete and could be transformed into a new wrestling gym. It would be a lot larger area, and the area already has good ventilation.”

Other important parts of the construction project include a daycare center, the girls locker room, and the band room. They are bringing the daycare center from the basement to a new building. The girls locker room would be where the band room is now, making it less of a walk to the field-house. The band room would be relocated to a building next to the auditorium putting fine arts in one general location.