New location for SOAR High School
Antelope Valley Community College District could see a new permanent location for SOAR High School, a renovated automotive laboratory, a new fine arts complex, new gymnasium, a new community center and a Centennial Plaza as part of the recommendations included in a facilities service plan update.
The recommendations were part of a presentation at the May 13 governing board by Deborah Shepley, of Gensler, a global architecture, design and planning firm that developed the college’s 2016 Facilities Master Plan. That master plan guided development of projects under Measure AV, the $350 million bond measure passed by local voters in November 2016. The board might pursue a new bond measure this November to complete the proposed projects.
The guiding principles for the planning framework were student services, equitable experiences, stewardship of resources, efficiency/utilization and community engagement.
“This facilities service plan and all ideas and recommendations will be to develop a physical environment to support students’ needs, all students’ needs,” Shepley said.
The proposed SOAR High campus would move near the existing tennis courts west of the existing gymnasium.
Moving SOAR would allow the college to renovate the automotive laboratory, she added.
One of the final Measure AV projects to be built is The Commons, a 47,353-square-foot building that will serve as the campus core for student life and college activities. The project is expected to start construction in July and take about two years to complete.
“Most of the functions in the Student Center will move into The Commons, which means that location becomes available for another use,” Shepley said.
The proposal is to demolish the building and construct a new fine arts complex in its place.
“It gets built, everyone in the fine arts area moves into the new building, and then the fine arts existing older buildings get removed and creates a location for a new community center,” Shepley said.
The proposal also calls for reconstructing the college’s decades-old gymnasium into a new physical education complex on the western edge of the campus to create a comprehensive physical education kinesiology center. The plan also includes adding new tennis courts in the area. The existing gymnasium would be removed and become the home of a new library.
A final draft proposal is expected to go before the AV College governing board in September.