Los Angeles Unified School system now owns the Playa Vista school site. Since November trucks are plowing the grounds. The final phase is awarding the contract to a commercial developer.
All the work Playa Vista residents did coming out in droves to speak at City Hall has paid off. The new, 650-seat elementary school in Playa Vista is still slated to be opened in the Fall of 2012.
Students will have access to the adjacent seven acre sport's park and approved Discovery Center whose emphasis will be on the ecology and history of the area including Native Americans, Howard Hughs, and plant and animal life of the Ballona Wetlands. A block away is the recently built Playa Vista Library. The new school will also have a specialized math/science curriculum and Loyola Marymount University will offer teacher training for their education students.
Today many children have severe allergies and this will be the first LAUSD project ever given accreditation from the U.S. Green Building Council, it is on target for an LEED Gold certification. Construction will begin late in 2009 and students are expected to be admitted September of 2012.