Zahnow project completed

Pictured is the new entrance to the recently renovated Zahnow Elementary.

While the Columbia School District is currently in the process of preparing its high school for the future with a major expansion, a somewhat more modest renovation was recently completed at Waterloo’s Zahnow Elementary, providing plenty of space for staff and faculty and allowing the district’s youngest classes to come back home.

Waterloo Superintendent of Schools Brian Charron offered an overview of Zahnow’s renovation process, which he recalled as having begun back in fall 2022 with a strategic planning committee meeting to consider and discuss facility maintenance and other needs in the district.

The space at Zahnow had been getting cramped for a while, then, culminating in the school board opting to transfer the school’s early childhood and pre-k classes to Gardner Elementary.

“We had been getting a little tight at Zahnow Elementary with the number of students that were coming into kindergarten each year, and we ended up running out of classrooms,” Charron said. “It was at that point that we realized we had to do something to address our facility needs and expand, either by adding onto Zahnow Elementary or to look at an additional school building.”

Charron said the district consulted with various local officials to discuss city growth, ultimately gauging that the anticipated growth in coming years was expected to be fairly gradual, thus a smaller expansion was determined to be ideal.

The first major phase of the project was an upgrade to the school’s parking lot and drop-off lane – much needed given daily congestion – which was completed in the summer of 2023.

“We needed the parking lot done to try to relieve some of the stress on parents stuck out on city roadways during pickup and drop-offs times,” Charron said. “That also allowed us the front parking lot to use as the staging area during the construction phases of the project.”

When it comes to the building, Charron noted that the addition of a gym for more indoor recreational space was floated, but this would have been a far more significant investment.

Charron also said another contributing factor to the final renovation choice was asbestos in the existing office area of the building which required abatement.

Ultimately, this abated office space has been reworked into a substantial multi-purpose and recreational area for indoor recess and other activities, including school assemblies.

The actual additions to the school building include four classrooms and new office space – with dedicated meeting rooms – as well as an improved entrance to the building for guests.

Charron pointed out that, though four classrooms have actually been added, the addition of improved administrative spaces actually allow for additional classroom use as two had previously been used as meeting rooms.

“Now we will have appropriately-sized conference rooms and teachers lounge areas, office space for reading specialists, speech pathologists,” Charron said. “This opens up essentially two full classrooms in the original building for us to use now as actually classroom space, plus the four added classrooms.”

Another major benefit Charron emphasized was the improvements to the entryway for guests as the school now has something of a containment area, allowing school staff to properly check out anyone entering the school before allowing them in.

Charron expressed great satisfaction with the overall results of the project, noting the renovations were actually completed a few weeks ahead of schedule – the groundbreaking took place in early February of last year – and about $300,000 to $400,000 under budget with a total cost of $7,934,782.

“We’re very satisfied with the project,” Charron said. “We think it’s turned out great. We love the aesthetics that it provides from the view when you’re on Hamacher looking at the building. We love the safety enhancements. We are very pleased with the quality of the construction. We feel fortunate to have had Nate Kinzinger and Holland Construction here on the project.”

Zahnow Elementary Principal Justin Imm likewise spoke very positively about the results of the construction.

“We, myself and the staff, are extremely excited to get the building open,” Imm said. “We’re extremely happy to have the building opened up and the opportunities that it’s going to have for our staff and for our students. The space, the aesthetics, how it looks, how it’s gonna make Zahnow more welcoming when you walk in.”

Imm also emphasized how well the construction process went. In the past year, he previously spoke about how well members of the construction crew interacted with students.

“It was seamless the whole time,” Imm said. “They were always respectful, making sure that if they were doing anything around the kids, they gave me a heads-up… They were great the whole time to work with.”

He further noted that the additional space is set to be very well utilized. The school has apparently already made good use of the multi-purpose room.

“I would say already we’ve used and enjoyed using the multi-purpose space for assemblies, inside recess and small class gatherings,” Imm said.

The biggest thing the school is looking forward to though, Imm said, is welcoming back those young classes who’ve been staying at Zahnow for a few years.

While the construction overall has been complete since the start of the year, Charron said a few smaller items like scuffs and whatnot should be taken care of in the next week or so.

Beyond that, he said the district seems to be set for the time being in regards to handling Waterloo’s population growth for the next few years, with the district’s latest five-year plan for renovations mainly focusing on roofing and HVAC maintenance.

“While it’s impossible to completely predict the future, we feel fairly confident that, with the completion of this project, our existing facilities should be able to handle the growth that is anticipated in Waterloo for the next 10-plus years,” Charron said.

The community is invited to celebrate the grand opening of the addition to Zahnow, located at 301 Hamacher Street, during an open house from 9-11 a.m. Saturday, Feb. 1. 

Andrew Unverferth

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