Local News

<< Previous   of   Next >> Illustration courtesy of Edmonds School District  (click to enlarge) This rendering shows the main entry of the new Lynnwood High School. (click to enlarge)   ADVERTISEMENT   CONTACT THE HERALD Robert Frank, City Editor frank@heraldnet.com   Published: Monday, July 21, 2008 New Lynnwood High School rises Construction on the $99.8 million project is about halfway done By Kaitlin Manry Herald Writer LYNNWOOD -- Bulldozers hum. Construction workers ready steel framing. A school emerges. Midway through construction on the new Lynnwood High School, the project is on schedule and on budget, said project manager Debra Born. The foundation is nearly complete and much of the frame of the $99.8 million school is up. Lights surround the baseball field and the football field is ready for turf. Portions of the roof and concrete brick siding are up, and electricians are in the process of wiring the building. Plumbing is also in the works. "It's exciting," Born said, looking over drawings of different parts of the new school. "There's a lot of ingredients to this project that make it quite rich and stimulating." Construction began in June 2007, and the school is scheduled to open to students in September 2009. Furniture and classroom setup is slated to begin next June. The school, east of I-5 near Mill Creek, will replace the existing Lynnwood High School, which is adjacent to Alderwood mall. The Edmonds School District has entered into a long-term lease with Texas developer Cypress Equities for the property at the current Lynnwood High School. Cypress plans to use the land to house retail space, multifamily residential units and a hotel. * Cypress plans to take control of the land in July 2009, according to Marla Miller, an assistant superintendent with the Edmonds School District. The new Lynnwood High School is expected to be one of the most energy efficient schools in the state. Skylights will be used to keep classrooms on the second floor of the school bright, while two chimneny-like shafts reflect sunlight to bottom-floor rooms. The school is centered around a two-story common space known as an agora, an ancient Greek word for marketplace. A sculpture of vessels by Walla Walla artist Wayne Chabre meant to showcase Lynnwood's diversity will hang in the agora. Glass window-walls make it possible to stand outside one side of the school and look through the agora to the other side. "It is quite a complex, challenging design," Born said. "There's not a lot of parallel lines." A bond voters passed in 2006 is funding most of the project, with grants, state funds and timber sales paying for the remainder of the school, which is on a formerly wooded lot in a residential neighborhood. The district has owned the land since the late 1960s and always intended to use it for a high school, Born said. "It's always exciting to provide a new environment for kids," said Edward Peters, the district's capital projects director. "One of the best parts of my job is I get to stand in the front door and watch the kids walk into the building on the first day of school. ... It's going to be a very cool school." Reporter Kaitlin Manry: 425-339-3292 or kmanry@heraldnet.com. *Correction, July 22, 2008: The Edmonds School District has entered into a lease with Cypress Equities for the property at the current Lynnwood High School. This story originally incorrectly described the nature of the transaction.

1. Fire destroys Silver Lake landmark 2. Tree clearing, mud slide angers Everett neighbor 3. County tackles bikini barista rules 4. Six people injured in Machias car crash 5. Edmonds councilwoman dies at 59 6. Search for missing hiker called off 7. Later start for school day unlikely in Marysville 8. Extended tax credit should spur home sales 9. Hopes for Snohomish excursion train may hinge on railway purchase 10. Designing a new business 2 - Top 10 Stories Most Talked about 3 - Top 10 Stories Most Emailed

• Gough on track to keep job • Jazz vocalist headlines NPAC • Mountlake Terrace makes football history • Tax revenue sagging, city budgets lagging • ‘Touch of Magic' show opens at Gallery North • Jackson repeats as South champs • Holiday Bazaars Calendar • Meadowdale storms back to grab title • Edmonds moves to Fire District 1 • Boeing will build, flight test and deliver 787s in South Carolina to spe ... • Snohomish County EDC promoting job growth in key industry clusters • $4 million grant to advance brain tumor research has Everett links • Providence medical center construction tops off its 12-story steel frame ... • Tulalip affordable housing project to be financed by KeyBank, Raymond Ja ... • Arlington's Lak of Ink has a growing following for Luke Kooyman's creati ... • Bank of the Northwest formed • Cascade Bank earns $1.6 million