Escondido Unified School District (EUSD) broke ground on Del Dios Academy of Arts and Sciences’ new STEM classroom building. In attendance were HMC Architects’ Kyle Peterson, James Krueger, Bridget Flecky, Talita Mathias, and Sandy Kate as well as EUSD administrators, board members, the district’s facilities planning and constructions director, the principal of Del Dios Academy, and the Mayor of Escondido, Paul McNamara.

The $19 million, two-story, 26,000 square-foot building marks the first phase of the school’s transformation. In partnership with Lusardi Construction, the design of the building promotes the school’s commitment to quality STEM education and will feature 12 classrooms, four science labs, and two collaborative work-spaces. Funded by Proposition E, passed in 2014, the building will modernize the campus and will help the campus retire 29 portable classroom buildings. The district plans to continue the modernization with more permanent classrooms and a sports complex, paid for with the proposed Measure Q on the upcoming March 2020 ballot.

The building will be completed in January 2021.

Watch the animation below for a special look at the new STEM building.