Greenacres Elementary School

Initially hired in early 2017, BBS was tasked by the Scarsdale School District to develop and implement the district’s Facility Master Plan and deliver related future work. In the selection of BBS culminated a lengthy search process for the district’s next Architect-of-Record, with RFPs sent to nearly (50) Architectural firms in the Greater New York Metropolitan region. BBS was ultimately selected as the best fit for the district. A half a year later, the Scarsdale Board of Education agreed with BBS’s recommendation to move forward with a major district-wide school improvement initiative, which included the renovation and expansion of Greenacres Elementary School.

The Greenacres expansion project included (8) new 800-sf classrooms for 4th and 5th grades. The new Learning Commons and Multipurpose Room was originally designed to be a flexible and highly-configurable space, however due to pandemic the space was temporarily adapted for use as socially-distanced Kindergarten classroom spaces. The renovation also allowed for the school to be completely reconfigured into a more effective and organized learning environment. Unlike the original building layout, the new configuration provides for a more streamlined delivery of services such as occupational, physical, and speech therapy which now have dedicated spaces. Art and music classrooms were relocated and clustered together. The new library and media center is a bright and airy space, also whimsical and very inviting; its layout and functionality was closely integrated with an adjacent Maker Space and a renovated computer lab.

The original school building was renovated for full ADA compliance, including repairing existing doors for greater accessibility. An accessible ramp was constructed to enable students of all abilities to access the upper playground, which was also outfitted with new and accessible play equipment. The project also addressed many infrastructural issues, including new heating boilers and burners, classroom ventilation systems, new roofs and roof gutters, and fire/security and electrical system upgrades. Bathrooms and new drinking fountains throughout the school were renovated. Despite pandemic-related construction delays, the expanded/renovated Greenacres school opened on-time for the new academic year of 2020-2021.

In an effort to accomplish a common goal, the project at Greenacres is a prime example of collaboration and idea sharing between the Scarsdale Board of Education, district administrators, faculty, parents, and local community members. With the assistance of BBS, the fruit of everyone’s labor is evident in the school’s larger and more flexible classroom spaces, multi-purpose rooms, bright hallways, renovated library, new commons/cafeteria, updated playground, and much more.

“The new school is absolutely beautiful and is a testament to the dedication of the Scarsdale community to its schools and its children. We are thrilled with the new building and how well it is already performing.”
Dr. Thomas Hagerman, Superintendent of Schools

“It’s not just a new building, it’s a functional building. It makes such a difference to our children to have services all together, to have their classes in the same area. We are grateful.”
Sharon Hill, School Principal