Design Update Community Meetings Address Charter Schools

By STEVE GALLUZZO and SARAH SHMERLING

Los Angeles Unified School District Director of Community Relations Lorena Padilla-Melendez moderated a series of design update community meetings on Zoom for Marquez Charter Elementary School on July 23, Palisades Charter Elementary School on July 24 and Palisades Charter High School on August 11, at which progress reports regarding rebuild efforts following the Palisades fire were provided.

Regarding Marquez, Carlos Torres of the Office of Environmental Health and Safety first gave an update, confirming that U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Household Hazardous Waste Removal (Phase 1) and Debris Removal (Phase 2), which includes site assessment and removal of asbestos, concrete, metal, ash surface soils (top three to six inches), have been completed. Third-party contractors for debris removal and environmental assessment of soils have also concluded their work.

“As far as the last thing—pre-occupancy testing and inspection—we’re close to saying we’re done, but not quite,” Torres said. “We didn’t find any contamination at all and we did wipe samplings in buildings that weren’t even there in the fires. Enhanced air quality monitoring will be installed in August.”

Next, Timothy Spaeth, senior design manager for Planning and Development, gave update on the interim campus (Phase 1), which is going on now, and later Phase 2. The total project budget is $202.6 million.

The project scope includes 22 new classrooms (general, TK, K, specialty, administrative spaces, multi-purpose room, library, food services and maintenance facilities); infrastructure updates, including utilities, landscape and parking improvements; and interim classrooms during the design and construction of the permanent campus. The new building construction is scheduled to start in the first quarter of 2027 and be completed in the fourth quarter of 2028.

As for the interim campus, 22 portable buildings for classrooms, administration, kitchen and library and three portable restrooms have been installed; mosaic restoration work is ongoing; and there will be communication from the district to discuss the return to campus after the start of the school year. Total interim play space is 43,000 square feet.

Regarding the permanent campus, Spaeth said plans are for 15 new general classrooms (first through fifth grade), four kinder/TK classrooms, two flexible learning/maker space classrooms, and a parent center.

The library will be 2,000 square feet and hold 6,000 books. The multi-purpose room stage with theatrical lighting and built-in projector and a motorized screen will be used for indoor dining or for PE during inclement weather.

“We’re looking at three years, six months and we’re pushing toward building occupancy by the end of 2028,” he said. “There’ll be at least as many parking spaces as before and the new infrastructure will be all new water pipes.”

Saif Vagh, associate principal at NAC Architecture, went over planning and design principles.

“We’re in the final schematic design phase right now,” Vagh said. “The multi-purpose room is more than twice as big and will be in the front of campus for better access … Of the three concepts we proposed—Secret Garden, Front Porch and Village Green—the Secret Garden was the most popular.”

The Secret Garden concept is designed to be “a nurturing, inspiring and subtly enchanting learning environment that fosters curiosity, discovery and a deep connection to nature,” according to the slides. It includes facets like an enclosed communal space, learning and play integrated, and every classroom to have a green view.

For Pali Elementary, the project scope entails restoring and repairing intact buildings with upgrades for re-occupancy; 16 new classrooms; and infrastructure renewal, including utilities, landscape and parking improvements. The timetable for Pali Elementary is the same as Marquez, with a total project budget of $134.9 million.

“Fire caused significant damage but it’s all hands on deck at LAUSD,” Spaeth added. “We’re working around the clock.”

Design Principal Greg Kochanowski of Practice firm said the new design will push the multi-purpose room out closer to the street and there will be the same number of parking spaces. The permanent campus overview calls for nine new general classrooms (first through fifth grade), five kindergarten/TK classrooms and two flexible learning/maker space rooms; two resource specialist rooms; a lunch shelter; outdoor play areas; and a 3,000-square-foot multi-purpose room.

“We’re in the final schematic design phase,” Kochanowski said. “The guiding principles are to establish a framework plan promoting unity and identity for students; create an environment that supports healing and collective memory; utilize holistic design practices to create a resilient campus environment; and harmonize the new structures with the existing building.”

Community Commons, Interwoven Landscapes and Garden Courts were the three design concepts proposed, and the consensus was toward the latter two, with emphasis on the kinder yard existing location being maintained but also separate from the main yard and respect for the historic building fabric.

Regarding Pali High, Scott Singletary, deputy director of LAUSD Facilities Planning and Development, introduced the campus reconstruction project, explaining that the $266 million project would funded by bond funds, while the district pursues insurance and FEMA claims.

The scope includes to replace facilities that were destroyed in the fire, which includes 21 general classrooms and six specialty classrooms/workrooms, collaboration spaces, administrative spaces, and restrooms for students and staff. In addition, portable buildings that remained post fire will now be removed and replaced in the new construction, due to “extensive mitigation requirements.”

It also includes infrastructure, landscape, track and field, and other impacted areas. For Palisades Academy, it includes three general classrooms and three faculty/staff offices. In the athletic field areas, it includes track and field, two athletic support spaces, a ticket booth, and baseball field.

Pali High is projected to follow the same construction timeline as Marquez and Pali Elementary, with design and the bid process before construction is slated to begin in the first quarter of 2027 and building occupancy in the fourth quarter of 2028.

Education Leader Principal K-12 Jesse Miller and Project Manager Jeffrey Zolan of DLR Group presented on the project goals and guiding principles, which include belonging, resilience and sustainability. The design concept includes “interlace,” “connect” and “thrive.”

Zolan broke the project down into three main facets: the new classroom building development zone, track and field restoration, and new baseball field, which is currently where portable buildings are being placed to temporarily serve as classrooms when students return and construction is underway.

Since the previous meeting, the buildable area has expanded to the east, with the planned removal of the portable buildings that were damaged. The design is meant to be “greener, safer and smarter,” with a fire defense zone along Sunset Boulevard and sun reaching the classrooms throughout the year, due to proposed building orientation. It also works to connect existing courtyards, as well as take inspiration from existing buildings, including “brick elements.”

Miller described seven different items across the site where they are trying to create “collision moments,” “collaboration spaces,” and “opportunities for students to really learn from each other.” These include interactive stairs, an innovation courtyard, learning stairs, indoor and outdoor collaboration, an outdoor amphitheater, and landscape buffer and benches at tennis courts.

Pali High—which began the 2025-26 school year at the Sears building campus location on August 13—has a target to return to portable spaces on the Palisades campus by the spring 2026 semester.

The last design community meetings for the three schools are anticipated to be scheduled for fall 2025, where presentations of the final designs will be given, including visual representations.