A Buffalo charter school hopes it will get the green light Monday evening to move forward with an $11 million expansion project on its North Buffalo campus.
Tapestry Charter School is seeking permission to construct a new three-story, 60,000-square-foot building next to its existing space on Great Arrow Avenue in North Buffalo. The architects designing the expansion are scheduled to appear before the Buffalo Planning Board at its April 10 meeting.
"This new building is basically taking their K-through-5 program and moving it over from the existing Tapestry building over to this new facility," said Robert Rumpl, princpal and architect at Trautman Associates.
In addition to classrooms, the new building would include a new gymnasium, cafeteria and STEM lab. There are additional plans beyond the new building, Rumpl explained.
"There's seven acres of property that's going to be developed as part of this package," he said. "It'll include a new bus loop to bring bus traffic off Great Arrow Drive. There's going to be 83 new parking spaces for staff and visitors at the facility. We're developing an artificial turf soccer field in the back as well as a play field.'
The bus loop will help ease congestion on a street where students are also delivered and picked up at nearby PS 64 Frederick Law Olmsted School.
Since opening as a K-through-4 school in 2001, Tapestry has expanded into high school grades and has a current enrollment of approximately 800 students. The middle and high schools will remain in the existing Tapestry space.
If the Buffalo Planning Board approves the project, work is expected to begin late this summer with a target opening date of September 2018.
