The Coolidge greenhouse was construted as a part of the orginal construction of the school in 1938. Due to lack of maintenance and use, the greenhouse is in desperate need of rehabilitation. The ACE Coolidge Team, along with the school’s Alumni association and other key stakeholders, not only plans to restore this historical keepsake, but also to create the first LEED certified school greenhouse in the area.

Introduction

If you ask the students at Coolidge SHS about the greenhouse, you often hear responses that they never knew we had one or that it has been abandoned for a couple of decades now. As part of the ACE mentor team project at Coolidge, our team proposed to bring the greenhouse “back to life” by renovating it and creating a new functional design to meet the school’s current and future needs. In addition to it being a place to study horticultural sciences, it could be a science research laboratory and weather center. The team found some historical items such as the alumni plaque dated from the Class of 1945 outside of the greenhouse building east wall and a stone bench with the engraving Class of the 1950. We as a team would like to form some attraction to these items by enhancing the landscaping around it so it becomes a place to cherish these relics from the past and be proud of the school’s history. Please refer to field condition survey, pictures, greenhouse presentation dated May/2009, and Coolidge Building report for more info.

Renovation Project Plan

Our goal is to complete the greenhouse design/construction by this year so that the senior team members can appreciate coming back to something they helped to finish. We have started on the pre-design phase conducting surveys of the existing conditions of the greenhouse from an exterior and interior perspective. Once we come up with the initial design and space plans, we will simultaneously start procurement of long lead items such as the glazing. Funding for these larger items will be our biggest challenge so we as a team are trying our best to find sources. The mechanical, plumbing and electrical systems will have to be evaluated since they are in need of repair. Since there are not many greenhouses that are LEED certified, we are hoping to obtain this certification in the process so the students learn the process of being compliant with energy and environmentally design standards. In the process of cleaning the debris and materials left from decades of neglect, the team has come up with a recycling plan to sort items that can be reused. We are also evaluating the tie-in to the main school building so that energy in the form of solar can be used as well as reuse of water collected from runoff.

Rough Order of Magnitude estimate

Each floor space is 576 SF with two floors totaling 1,152 SF. The goal is to expand this greenhouse out to twice the size making it 2304 SF. Design costs would be $10/SF x 2304 = $23,040 (includes LEED consulting). Construction costs can be developed once the design is complete but roughly would be $115,200. By adding contingency at 10%, we are estimating this project to be roughly $200,000.

Please send any donations and grants correspondence relating to the Coolidge greenhouse project to Frank Jones III (CCAA) at frjones@cchs-aa.org or James Proctor (CCAA) at jproctor@cchs-aa.org

“Our vision and goals as a team are that as the “Coolidge Green Team”, we can set an example to other schools in the importance of the study of sciences such as horticulture, astronomy, meteorology, etc. and how they can apply to today. Having a LEED certified greenhouse at the school linking the past, present, and future generations will be something the students at Coolidge can be proud of!!”

Donate to the Calvin Coolidge Greenhouse Restoration Project