Kenmore: September 2025 Construction Update

We are excited to share a project update on the significant improvements made to the Kenmore Elementary campus. This project was a major undertaking, and we're thrilled with how the new campus design has created a safer, more efficient, and more welcoming environment for everyone.

 

Enhancing Campus Safety and Security

The modernization project has dramatically improved campus safety by implementing multiple layers of security, beginning with the new admin/common building. By relocating the main office to a central, highly visible location and installing new security fencing, we have created a campus secure boundary that allows front desk staff to better monitor visitors and control access to the campus. The new access control and visitor management system are essential to this layered approach, empowering our front office team to visually screen and vet visitors before they can enter the admin building. This process ensures that only authorized individuals are on campus and provides a record of everyone who enters, significantly enhancing security for our students and staff.

Revitalizing Outdoor Play and Learning Spaces

We are thrilled to provide students with vibrant and safe new play areas. A key focus of the project was to move the primary play area away from two historically unsafe locations. The previous play area was located in a wetland, an environmentally sensitive area that also presented supervision challenges. It was also located in the parking lot, which posed a significant safety risk due to daily vehicle and truck traffic. The new design places the play area securely within the campus's fenced boundary, eliminating these risks.

The new play spaces, which include approximately 75,000 square feet of usable surfacing and play structures, are designed with safety standards in mind. By consolidating the play zones, we have made supervision significantly more practical for staff, allowing them to easily monitor students' well-being. The play structures themselves, designed for children ages 5-12, prioritize inclusivity and variety while adhering to safety guidelines. Features like climbing structures with a slide, balance elements, and a play slope that turns a site constraint into a unique feature. All playground elements provide opportunities for active play in a carefully designed, secure environment.

There are additional outdoor play options that are part of the project and are still being addressed by the contractor. Painting and striping included in the project will be completed in the days ahead, including four square, sensory walk, tetherball, and basketball court lines. New grass near the field will take root in the coming months, providing more green space in our play areas.

Removal of Portable Classrooms

One additional benefit of the modernization project is the removal of all nine portable classrooms! Our students now learn in permanent, unified spaces, which has completely transformed the campus experience.

By moving everyone into the permanent buildings, we have been able to consolidate teaching, learning, and extracurricular activities within the secure campus boundary. This change creates a greater sense of unity and collaboration for students and staff, bringing our entire school community together in a cohesive and more engaging environment.

Improving Traffic Flow and Circulation for Safety

The project was designed to address multiple safety and traffic issues. Previously, the school was accessed by two dead-end streets with no official easement, leading to safety hazards as vehicles used the campus as a pass-through. To improve safety, wayfinding, and traffic flow, the district sought to secure the site and limit vehicular access after-hours, while also meeting a city-mandated requirement for a dead-end roundabout on 71st Ave NE, and a sidewalk segment on the east side of 71st Ave NE.

The new design features a separate bus loop and car drop-off and pick-up area. This separation was crucial to the safety of the on-site traffic circulation, as it eliminated the need for buses to drive in the oncoming traffic lane at a blind corner, reduced pedestrian crossings to one marked location, and provided more space for cars to queue during pick-up without spilling onto adjacent neighborhood streets.

The streamlined traffic flow also has several operational benefits. It has significantly reduced the staff time needed to manage traffic, allowing them to focus on instruction-related duties. It also improved sightlines from the front office, making it easier for staff to monitor who is on campus and giving staff better sightlines to kids getting in and out of cars. The dedicated bus loop provides a safe area for buses to maneuver, preventing students from darting between parked buses and ensuring a smoother flow during peak hours. Overall, the project created a more efficient and safer environment for students, staff, and neighbors.

The New Commons Wing

One of the most heartwarming sights on campus these days is our new commons area, filled with the happy buzz of students eating lunch together. For so long, we had to get creative with our lunch spaces, and to now see our kids gathered in such a beautiful, dedicated common area is a dream come true. This space has completely transformed lunchtime, creating a vibrant hub where students can connect, relax, and refuel. It’s more than just a place to eat; it's a place to build friendships and make memories. We are so grateful to our entire community for helping us bring this vision to life!

Celebrating Kenmore Campus with Colors

The new design theme, created by our award-winning architecture firm Mithun, was inspired by our campus's surrounding natural environment, featuring vibrant greens and natural tones. This aesthetic intentionally highlights the school colors and provides a flexible canvas for art installations, such as murals or renderings of the school mascot that will create a connection to the identity of the school community. We plan to engage our school community in choosing the location of yet to be determined art installations and provide support for the creation of artwork that is meaningful to the Kenmore Community.

Appreciating Community Engagement

We deeply appreciate the support and collaboration we've received from the community throughout the project, especially the strong engagement from our families and neighbors. We had an outstanding turnout of up to 60 community members at our initial onsite project open house in March of 2023, where your input helped shape the design. This was followed by another well-attended open house in June 2024, where up to 40 community members saw the final design, and a groundbreaking ceremony that drew around 70 attendees who were able to learn more about the project. We also value the ongoing dialogue we have been able to have with parents and community members via our dedicated project email address, which has allowed us to answer questions and provide information directly. 

We believe this new facility will not only meet the needs of our students but also become a source of pride for the entire community. We are so excited to welcome staff and students to campus. The energy and excitement of everyone's arrival has brought the entire campus, especially the new building, to life.

We are so incredibly grateful for our entire school community's amazing patience and flexibility. Thank you for bearing with us as we put the final touches on our new school building. Every day, we feel so lucky to be a part of this community, and we are committed to making Kenmore Elementary a safe and nurturing home for all. We can't wait to see this project fully completed and to celebrate with you as the sand field is restored, the lawn area is established, the play areas are striped, and our new school site is truly functioning at its best.

Learn more about this project, which was generously funded by the voter-approved 2022 Capital Bond, on the Kenmore Elementary Construction Project website.