Gillispie School construction begins for expansion project

With students out for summer, construction has begun on the first of a two-phase construction project to renovate the Gillispie School. Phase one involves renovating the Fay Avenue side of the 7380 Girard Ave. campus to increase the indoor square footage in the childhood and kindergarten classrooms.

Head of School Alison Fleming told La Jolla Light, via e-mail, “When families return in the fall, they will find bright, playful spaces where our youngest will learn. Classroom square footage will increase for children ages two through prekindergarten, as will the amount of natural light when additional windows are added.

“The outdoor classroom space will also be increased and will include a sustainable garden for children to learn how to maintain a butterfly population and grow flowers and vegetables.”

The second phase involves the newly acquired 7,000-square-foot property (one building that previously housed the Art Shed studio space and Design Studio West) and 10,000-square-foot parking lot, next to the school at 7420-7426 Girard Ave., which the school purchased in spring 2018.

A construction start date has not been announced, but Fleming said she hopes to have that space available for students by 2020.

Collectively, this space will be known as “The Sandbox,” and while the interior will be “transformed,” the exterior will only be “cosmetically enhanced,” Fleming said.