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Oregon Road Conditions & Cams Email Story to a Friend January 16, 2006 City will check Christian school plans Medford commission will consider design for building to go with gym on Chevy Way By ANITA BURKE Mail Tribune Medford officials are set to review plans for a building project that would create a new $14 million campus for Cascade Christian High School on Chevy Way. The city’s Site Plan and Architectural Review Commission will consider on Friday a design for a roughly 69,000-square-foot addition to a donated gym the school already owns. Last month, Cascade Christian launched a campaign to raise $4.5 million to help pay for the project. Funding the entire building project, estimated to cost about $10 million, will require the sale of the school’s present building at 525 East E St., Jacksonville, and donated building materials, supplies and labor, school representatives said in a press release kicking off the capital campaign. Cascade Christian already has raised $2.7 million toward its $4.5 million goal, said Ray Johnson, superintendent of Grace Christian Schools, which administers the high school. Plans for a Medford campus, centrally located to serve students from throughout the Rogue Valley, started in 1999 when Medford businessman John Duke donated a 33,000-square-foot gym, at 886 Chevy Way, that was formerly part of Superior Athletic Club to the school. Advertisement That building, valued at $3.5 million, will accommodate a gym, a multipurpose room, music performance space and a coffee shop operated by students, Johnson said. A two-story addition on the west end of the building will house a kitchen and locker rooms on the ground floor and a weight room and classroom upstairs, plans show. Joining the existing building will be a new 53,800-square-foot education wing that will include classrooms, labs and a library. The library features a soaring, two-story-high wall of glass that will flood it with natural light. A skyway with 5,825 square feet of administrative office space and classrooms will link the two buildings and provide a covered plaza area for students to gather, Johnson said. The entire shell of the two-story education wing will be built at once, but only the first floor will be finished initially, he said. Its 15 classrooms, along with computer and science labs, are designed for maximum flexibility of uses and can accommodate 325 students. When the second floor is finished, the school will have space for 500 students. The school currently has 265 students, nearly full capacity for its 100-year-old building in Jacksonville, officials said. "We are really excited about a great new campus that will meet the needs of our students," Johnson said. The city planners reviewing the school’s plans recommend approval, but noted some work remained, such as details about outdoor lighting, parking, paving, curbs and storm drains; a plan for the nearby Bear Creek riparian zone; and an agreement with the airport about flight traffic over the property. After a final nod from the Site Plan and Architectural Review Commission, the school must present plans to the Planning Commission, then seek building permits. Johnson said the earliest construction could start would be in May if fundraising and the permit process both go well. The project would take 14 months to build. Classes could start at the new campus as soon as fall of 2007, he said. Reach reporter Anita Burke at 776-4485, or e-mail City will check Christian school plans ">[email protected] . Mail Tribune Home | Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life | Opinion AP News | Archives | Site Map | Community | Classified Copyright © 1997-2006 Mail Tribune, Inc. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions | Website Feedback www.bingo.com Home Security Systems Trunks, Footlocker Distance Education Computer Security Cheap Website Hosting Discount Hotel Reservations dvd-r Generic Viagra Myspace Home Equity Loans Windermere Van Vleet Deep Muscle Stimulator Sports Equipment Online Casino Reviews High End Computers Online Bingo Entertainment Guide Online Casino Fundraisers Student Loans Sudoku Online Advertisement s Advertisement