Penza Bailey Architects, in Joint Venture with Newman Architects, is proud to announce the contract award for the design of the Walter P. Carter/Lois T. Murray Elementary/Middle School with Baltimore City Public Schools. The new co-located schools will combine students at the nearby Guilford Elementary School scheduled for closure, with the current Walter P. Carter ES/MS population, and include the Lois T. Murray special needs school. Estimated construction cost is $43.5 million and is scheduled to open in 2020, with an estimated total enrollment of 909 students. The school adjoins the nearby Govanstowne Business District along the York Road Corridor to which Penza Bailey Architects is a part of and has played an active role in helping to improve. Laura Thul Penza, PBA Principal, is the current President of the Govanstowne Business Association.
The Architecture Team also provided the Feasibility Study which proposed an educational program incorporating these two previously separate school buildings, into one facility with two distinct identities. Consistent with the 21st Century School Buildings Plan, the program emphasized collaborative and interactive learning areas, in flexible and adaptable spaces. Prior to the beginning of work on the Feasibility Study, meetings were held with the community to understand their objectives and concerns for the redevelopment of the school site and its effect on their neighborhood. With the input from the preliminary community meetings, combined with the program requirements and the objectives of the “21st Century School Buildings Program,” the feasibility study team established project goals for the redevelopment of the schools.