Building the Future

Authored by Head of School Dr. Fran Bisselle

Thanks to the support of generous donors, our Classic Building renovation project is well underway at Hathaway Brown. 

You may have seen the large construction fence that is now installed in the school’s front circle and been wondering what’s been going on inside the building. I created this informal behind-the-scenes tour of the work that’s now being done for the Head’s Council, a group of alumnae who offer support and counsel to my team and me. I’m pleased to share that video with all of you today as well. In the coming weeks, look for even more videos from our communications office to give an overview of the project. 

I wanted to offer you a few brief updates today so that you know what’s in store. And stay up to date on all of HB’s construction initiatives. 

Phase One: First Floor North Wing & Upper School 

Phase One (in process) includes the North Wing first floor in the Upper School space, encompassing the main front hallway area and adjacent spaces between The Ahuja Auditorium and the Upper School dance studio. 

Designed by Gund Partnership—the architects who created HB’s inspirational four-story glass atrium space that reminds students that for them, the sky is the only limit—HB’s new Upper School Classic Building transformation will create refreshed classrooms that more appropriately meet the needs of today’s students.

Work includes modernizing classroom spaces with updated technology and more modern appointments and furnishings. Several “living room” common areas will be constructed through innovative restructuring of the existing built environment, and we are upgrading the heating, ventilation, and air conditioning systems, which will improve climate control and air quality.

The project also includes creating a more inviting grand entrance area, where families from across Northeast Ohio will be welcomed to join our school community—continuing the outstanding HB tradition of educating and empowering girls for many generations to come. 

Phase One should be complete by the end of the calendar year.

Phase Two: Second Floor North Wing

Phase Two will incorporate updates to the second floor of the North Wing and will span the course of the second semester of the 2020-2021 school year. 

For a preview of what to expect, view a gallery of design renderings here.

Subsequent phases will carry through these same kinds of classroom and common space improvements in the Upper School East Wing and West Wing. 

Maintenance Building & Additional Parking

We now also are in the process of constructing a maintenance building outside on the west end of campus on Courtland Boulevard adjacent to our newly expanded Primary School parking lot, which was completed this summer. 

You may recall that last year the HB Board of Trustees and school administration were pursuing variances from the city of Shaker Heights to construct additional surface parking in the southeast corner of campus near the intersection of Sherbrooke Road and South Park Boulevard, along with an additional regulation-sized field for high school athletic games. Those variances were granted and we continue to explore plans and fundraising initiatives for those construction projects. 

Primary School

We are exploring ways to make some important updates to our Primary School building as well, and we hope to announce more definitive plans for that space soon. 

COVID-Safe Upgrades

In addition to all of this exciting construction to improve and modernize our spaces, we have implemented multiple COVID-safe upgrades to our facilities, spacing out furnishings to accommodate physical distancing, installing several hand sanitizing and temperature taking stations, and affixing safety, traffic flow, and wayfinding signage throughout campus. 

It may only be the beginning of October, but we have been hard at work at work at HB, and the school year is off to a terrific start. We’re so happy to have our students and faculty back in our halls, learning and growing and building the future together.