New School Building Planned for Wilde Lake Middle School

November 22nd, 2013

The Howard County Board of Education has approved a recommendation by Superintendent Renee A. Foose to replace Wilde Lake Middle School with a new, high-performance, energy-efficient building. Pending approval by the Maryland Interagency Committee on School Construction, the new school will be constructed alongside the existing school, located at 10481 Cross Fox Lane in Columbia. The existing facility will remain in use throughout the construction process, then demolished upon completion of the new school.

With a capacity of 662 students, the new building will satisfy the need for additional space that is anticipated due to significant population growth expected in the Columbia Town Center area.

The Superintendent’s recommendation followed a feasibility study that examined three proposals ranging from minor renovations and an addition to the current building, to a complete demolition and replacement. New construction offers significant advantages, including virtually no disruption to students or teachers during the building process. In addition, all spaces in the facility will be constructed to best accommodate their intended uses.

The building is intended to be one of the first “Net Zero Energy” public school buildings to be constructed in Maryland and will provide significant energy cost savings over the existing facility. A Net Zero designation indicates that the amount of energy consumed at the facility over one year is equal to the energy produced on site through renewable energy technologies such as solar panels.

Energy savings will also be realized through highly efficient geothermal and energy recovery technologies, natural daylight throughout 90 percent of the occupied space, and solar hot water heating. The building will be eligible to achieve US Green Building Council LEED Gold Certification.

Total project costs are estimated to be approximately $36.6 million. Pending approval, building design is scheduled for presentation to the Board in April 2014, with construction expected to begin in July 2015 and completed by August 2017.