East Syracuse Minoa Central School District

Minoa Elementary School underwent a major transformation as part of Phase 2 of East Syracuse Minoa Central School District’s $49.8 million Capital Improvement Project. Like Phase 1, this project also focused on increasing student safety and security, improving existing and providing new indoor and outdoor learning spaces, and upgrading building technologies and infrastructure. Redesigning Minoa posed a different set of challenges to the design team, having just completed renovating its sister school, Fremont, in Phase 1. Though similar programmatic themes were mirrored throughout – such as the addition of flexible learning environments, break out spaces, and the need for a large cafeteria/learning commons addition – King + King was adamant that Minoa should have its own look, feel, and identity, and not just a be a copy/paste of Fremont.

The existing 50,000 SF, one-story building followed a similar, but not exact, layout as Fremont. Here, classroom wings were divided into K/1^st, 2^nd/3^rd, and 4^th/5^th grades with each wing featuring small group instruction rooms and corridor break out spaces that were tailored appropriately to each grade level. Like Fremont, the main entrance was also moved to a more central location in the building and tied into the new ‘STEAM’ corridor featuring Band, Music, Art, the Library/Media Center, and Maker Space. Lastly, the project features a new 3,500 SF cafeteria/learning commons addition. The existing mosaic mural, created by the schools former art teacher and students, was able to be salvaged from the old lobby and is now featured in the new cafeteria space.

Renovations also included upgrades to the existing gymnasium, kitchen/serving area, administrative offices, and building-wide infrastructure (HVAC, plumbing, electrical, and IT) replacement throughout.