An architect’s illustration shows what the new Edward Little High School will look like when it opens in 2023. Auburn School Department
AUBURN — Ninety-seven classrooms. Fifty-one feet tall. A new building footprint that’s double the size.
On Tuesday, the Planning Board will take up approval for the new Edward Little High School, diving into hundreds of pages of planning details.
Auburn voters approved the new $122 million high school just over a year ago.
According to an application by project architect Harriman, the new high school will sit to the south of the existing high school and take two years to build.
After the anticipated finish in the summer of 2023, the existing high school, built in 1959 and expanded or renovated three times since, will be demolished and the athletic fields will go up over the next year.
In the proposed plans:
• The entire area is about 60 acres. Nearly 17 acres will need to be cleared of trees for construction.
• The entrance at Forest Avenue is being closed; the other three public street entrances will stay.
• The new facility will have 601 parking spaces, up from 296 now.
• The current school sits on a 94,340-square-foot footprint. The new high school will sit on a 184,100-square-foot footprint.
• The building will need a waiver to go as high as the proposed 51 feet.
• The track and field complex will include an “eight-lane all-weather surface track, a new artificial-turf football/soccer stadium, and a new artificial-turf multi-purpose/practice field.”
City staff is recommending a new street light be added in the proposed cul-de-sac at Forest Avenue and a local property owner’s drainage concerns be addressed, among other things.
City Planner II Megan Norwood said staff has spent a lot of time reviewing the project and working out details with the fire, police and public works departments.
“The neighborhood meetings we’ve attended have given us an idea of some of the concerns in the neighborhood, but I suspect we’ll hear more at the public hearing on the 14th,” Norwood said. “Depending on what that discussion entails, it may determine whether the Planning Board will approve the application with conditions or decide to table until August and give (Harriman) more time to address the concerns.”
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