CREC Museum Academy

CREC Museum Academy Magnet School, Bloomfield, Connecticut

Client:  Smith Edwards McCoy Architects

Owner:  Capitol Region Education Council (CREC)

CREC Museum Academy Magnet School, Bloomfield, Connecticut

Freeman Companies is provided land surveying, civil, environmental, geotechnical and traffic engineering services to the Prime Architect for the proposed CREC Museum Academy.  The school was designed for 75,000 square feet of “active-learning” space for 522 students in grades PreK – 5 and for advancement of “hands-on, minds-on, authentic learning through partnerships with museums throughout the state to customize museum teachings to match the humanities-based curriculum”.  Outdoor learning and display spaces are featured throughout the 16.83-acre site, located at 11 Turkey Hill Road.  All of the School’s outdoor facilities will be open for Town use.

The property consisted of the JP Vincent School (where Museum Academy had been operating two years previous), natural grass playing field, concrete sidewalks, and a parking area.  The proposed improvements replaced the existing school with the new Academy and included a new sport playing field, driveways, parking lot, sidewalks, storm drainage, utility services, and plantings.  The youngest students, 126 in PreK education, now enjoy a dedicated entrance to the school where a “valet service” is provided to improve flow of traffic, with school staff escorting the children into the school.  A traffic study was prepared to analyze the existing traffic patterns in the vicinity of the site. Improvements to the site entrances were designed to allow for separate access to the school for bus/staff and parents for drop-off and pick-up. The facility and grounds were designed to LEED Silver equivalency under the Connecticut High Performance rating system. 

Prior to final selection of the Bloomfield site, site investigations/site selections also involved comprehensive analysis of the historic Hartford College for Women campus in the West End of Hartford and an additional site in nearby Simsbury.

The CREC Museum Academy Magnet School will be opening in August for the 2017-2018 academic school year.

In The News: CREC Museum Academy Looks For Its Forever Home

Freeman Companies is providing the following services:

Graphics:  Smith Edwards McCoy Architects