Springville council gives permission slip for new high school, land swap
The current Springville High School campus was constructed in 1968 and will remain open as construction begins on a new campus in 2024.
The current Springville High School campus was constructed in 1968 and will remain working as construction begins on a new campus in 2024.
The Bird Park baseball and softball fields, seen here, will be relocated to the northwestern side of the property as a part of the new Springville High School project.
The existing Springville High School football field, pictured here, is where most of the new campus is planned to be built in 2024. The original campus was constructed in 1968.
During the Springville City Council’s meeting on Tuesday night, the council signed off on plans for the new Springville High School. The next step in the process is for the Nebo School District Board of Education to do the same next week.
The plans lay out that the school district plans to begin construction in 2024, with a projected completion date in 2026.
Currently, Springville High School is surrounded by city property, with Bird Park and Spring Acres Park being owned by the city. The agreed-upon property exchanges involve the district taking on 6.38 acres of Bird Park and 6.94 acres of Spring Acres Park while the city receives areas currently used for the Springville campus, property near Memorial Park, and Meadow Brook Elementary School.
The properties that the city will be receiving are planned to be improved by the district to include a Pony baseball and softball field with lighting, a snack shack, six pickleball courts, turf, trees, irrigation, playgrounds, a pavilion, a parking lot, benches, tables, curbs, gutters, trails and more.
The new Pony baseball and softball fields will be moved to the northwest side of the property, with a new soccer field near the intersection of 900 South and 1350 East.
All of the properties involved in the exchanges, as well as the improvements, achieve fundamental fairness and equity between the parties, according to the joint resolution.
For the district, the new campus is one that is needed. The current site for the high school was built over 50 years ago and the new construction looks to have the school built almost directly on top of the existing football field with parking and parent drop-off areas bordering 800 South. While the campus will be moving toward the southwest corner, where Bird Park currently is, the city will still keep the trail on the north side of Hobble Creek.
A new street, Red Devil Drive, will connect 900 South to 400 South, giving the campus a north to south thoroughfare with access to the campus and the parking lots. This was something the city and the district discussed the need for with less access to the campus on the northern side.
Plans for the new Springville High School also include new tennis courts, a new softball field, a possible field house, a new gym, an auditorium and more.
There is no estimated fiscal impact at this time, according to documents from the city, with the city possibly taking on some future costs.
Some approval processes to the site plan may require some changes to be made, but both the city and the district will work together during the design phase to make sure that the plans meet the needs of the city, the district and the residents.
During the council meeting, Springville Mayor Richard Child said the approval of the resolution was the next step in the process to get the ball rolling. Child continued, stressing that the resolution also shows the great relationship that the city and the Nebo School District have with each other.
Nebo Superintendent Rick Nielsen echoed a similar sentiment with the resolution moving the process along.
“We envision that this could be the marquee high school site in the state of Utah,” Nielsen said. “If you think about the amenities that are going to be there, what this is going to look like, I cannot think of a more beautiful site, but it can’t happen without the city and the school district working together.”
With the Springville City Council passing and approving the plans for the new high school on Tuesday unanimously, the next step will involve the Nebo School District Board of Education signing off on the plans in its meeting on March 10.
A design phase will come next, with some possible changes and things being done. There were continued talks that the school district and the city will work together moving forward with the process, with construction planned to begin in 2024.
