Well folks, if you are not a person who likes change, you better get ready for it! Be prepared to park at 602 NE 96th street. Our campus will get a new look when you ride down 6th avenue at the beginning of August 2015. The 6 million dollar (pre-cast) 300 spot, parking garage should make you feel much better when you park on campus. A pre-cast parking garage is a type of garage that will be brought in with slabs of concrete, and in a way, “built off campus.” The slabs are created off-site, before they are assembled on campus. The Zyscovich architecturally designed “Campus Parking Garage,” as it will be called, is scheduled to begin construction in January of 2015, and be completed in August of 2015.  There will also be parking outside of the garage.

Will you be affected? I guess I can tell you now… Half of the faculty and the entire student body will be affected. The longer you have been an employee at MCDS, the more likely you are to receive a parking spot on 107st. The parking lottery on 107st will be based on years- of -service to the school for employees. Safety Chairperson and US Dean of Students, Mr. Oronoz along with many other individuals thought that this method would be the best way to reassign parking spots on 107th St. Handicapped, administrators and/or those that need to park on campus will take up spaces as well. As for those students and faculty parking at the church, Mr. Oronoz is very adamant about having a shuttle bus available at all times, should any student need to leave campus. Of course, it will cost the school a good deal of money, but it is the best way to keep everyone satisfied.

In case you are wondering what will happen when major events occur on campus, such as athletic events going on at the same time as many of the art events that occur around the same time every year. St Rose of Lima, will allow us to utilize their parking lot as well. Mr. Oronoz said, “We have managed ourselves to park people at events like that.”

So what do students and faculty think? Many students hope that the Upper School administration is a bit more lenient with tardies. Junior Sam Cohen says, “I feel like it’s not unfair, but it needs to be done. I feel like if there was an alternative measure that could be done to prevent us from parking at the church, it should have been taken.” A great deal of students share neutral feelings about this change. Upper School math teacher, Mrs. M. Smith, feels like, “Parking at the church will add some time to my commute. The shuttle timing will be concerning.”

The reason why the garage is being built during this time frame is because it allows us to use the garage at the start of the 2015-16 school year. So in order to make a smooth transition into the parking garage, 107th st underwent re-construction this past summer. Chief Operating Officer (COO) Mr. Butts says,“It will bring a full dimension on parking here.” Mr. Oronoz also exclaims, “It will be very rewarding in the end.”

Want to know what the north lot is expected to look like in 2016? While the parking garage is being constructed, the Center for the Arts will also undergo construction and is scheduled to be completed by spring of 2016! Our maintenance building will be torn down. The Center for the Arts building will extend out to the Biscayne Canal and will sit on the community garden as well. The Campus Parking Garage and Center for the Arts will be adjacent to each other, and they will bring a beautiful look to Country Day!

Well, get ready for no more long lines on 6th avenue, a much smoother entrance and exit, and no more gravel lots, because a brand new look will be on our campus in August 2015!