John Rex Elementary

[UnFrSaKn]

John W Rex Elementary Charter School June 18 2013) - YouTube

[Praedura]

The City of OKC has put up a nice little 14 second video showing work on the school:

Video by cityofokc - Instagram




I like this pan to the east:



You can see the construction crane for the HGI down the street in the sunrise. That's a nice view.


You can also see more progress on the foundation:



That Film Row sign is a little curious to me. It seems strange to have it there in front of a school.
Not that it looks bad -- it's a great looking sign. Just feels odd to be designating a 'Film Row' district where an elementary school is in place. And I thought that the city always referred to this project as being in the 'Arts District'.

[soonerguru]

The City of OKC has put up a nice little 14 second video showing work on the school:

The City released a video? [Sherlock Holmes voice] IN-TER-E-STING[Sherlock Homes voice]

[UnFrSaKn]

"What's that new-fangled thing youngsters use all the time? Instagram? Put it on there!"

[soonerguru]

Bold move.

[bradh]

so we've got a 2.5 year old kid, what are the odds we can get her in if she fits into tier 4 (currently) for enrollment?

[Dustin]

So hipster to not use Vine.

[UnFrSaKn]

John W. Rex Elementary Charter School (July 9 2013) - a set on Flickr

[UnFrSaKn]

John W. Rex Elementary Charter School (July 13 2013) - a set on Flickr

[Praedura]

Sweet! This project is really coming along quickly. Go, construction crew, go!

[krisb]

I love the street wall that is emerging.

[Bellaboo]

I love the street wall that is emerging.

This is pretty neat, we can have a new tower, a school and a new attourney's office all three in a row going up at the same time here.

[DoctorTaco]

so we've got a 2.5 year old kid, what are the odds we can get her in if she fits into tier 4 (currently) for enrollment?

There is really no way to know. I am not in a position of knowledge myself, but my partially educated guess is that Tiers 1 and 2 will not come close to filling the school. The wild card is how many from Tier 3 (all OKCPS) sign up. If the school were to open today my guess is Tier 4 people (out of OKCPS, parent works downtown) could get in as the school is kind of under the radar. But I expect in the next year a big public awareness campaign which could change that.

[Dustin]

Will there be a storm shelter in this school?

[Plutonic Panda]

Will there be a storm shelter in this school?

I think it was already said that there is not. I would hope it will be considered before it's finished. From the looks of this, hopefully it will be safe to be in the middle of the school, should it be necessary.

[dankrutka]

First, every Oklahoma school should have a storm shelter from this point forward. Is there any valid reason for risking possible lives after what happened? (I'm honestly asking.)

Second, I wonder if this school does really well what the chances of other schools (maybe another elementary to start and then a middle school) to locate in the core as well. There's certainly plenty of land in the core to shore area and schools could help the real estate market, no?

[UnFrSaKn]

[warreng88]

So is the structure going up right now going to house the Gymnasium and the other area on the east (left) part of the picture going to be the main school building?

[Pete]

So is the structure going up right now going to house the Gymnasium and the other area on the east (left) part of the picture going to be the main school building?

Yes.

[UnFrSaKn]

John W Rex Elementary Charter School (July 2013) - YouTube

[DoctorTaco]

Thanks as always for the video!

I am no engineer, but is it just me or does this construction look a little flimsy? I've seen one-story residential built with deeper foundations than this school.

[Pete]

From today, courtesy of Metro...

Really making progress.

[soonerguru]

Wow, I'm out of downtown for a week and this happens!

[Architect2010]

I am no engineer, but is it just me or does this construction look a little flimsy? I've seen one-story residential built with deeper foundations than this school.

The gym, which is the structure under construction now, is made of cinder-blocks [I believe] and isn't much different than how most gyms are built. Not that it's necessarily well-built, but it is seems pretty standard around here for elementary gymnasiums. I think the only time you'd have to worry about its 'flimsiness' is if a tornado decides to visit the school. Which thankfully, there are plenty of stronger structures around than the gym or school itself to take shelter in. Then again, I'm no engineer either. ;P

[Praedura]

It's great that this is moving along quickly. But at the risk of being a Debbie Downer, I have to say... this is already looking a bit monolithic, drab, dungeon-like.

I hope the exterior of the finished product looks a little cheerier than some of the sketches that I saw.