Durham School of the Arts plans $240 million move out of downtown Durham

Plans are taking shape Thursday to move Durham School of the Arts to a new location by 2026.

Durham Public Schools plans to move the school from its current building at 400 N. Duke St. in downtown Durham to a new building in north Durham.

The new DSA would open in the next two years in the fall of 2026.

The current building, which is at least 100 years old, is not in good condition, leaders said, and it would cost more to renovate it than to move to the new site at the intersection of Stadium Drive and Duke Homestead Road.

Renderings for the new building show 108 classrooms, about three fewer classrooms than the current building in downtown Durham.

Construction plans indicate 17 classrooms in the current building are undersized, and the classrooms in the new building would be larger.

Parents like Brittney McGraw, however, are concerned it won't be enough space.

"As a parent, I’m not sure how all the students are going to fit," McGraw said. "I don’t think all of the teachers are going to have spaces."

The cost to move to the new building will be $240 million.

"When I first heard the number, I was like, 'whoa!'" School Board Chair Bettina Umstead said. "But then I reminded myself, we're talking about 2,000 students, [grades] 6 through 12, in a brand new space."

Umstead said the new price tag for the building is high, but worth it.

Features in the new building will include:

• A consolidated campus centered around a single outdoor courtyard
• A music building with consolidated band, orchestra, piano lab, and guitar classrooms with a new 800-seat concert hall
• A theater building with dance, drama, choral, and theater tech classrooms plus a 150-seat black box and a 500-seat theater
• A gym building with a high school and middle school gym, weight room, training room, offices for coaches, and separate middle and high school locker rooms
• A new counseling suite located adjacent to the cafeteria and media center

The proposal calls for the new school to be three levels, with middle schoolers on the second floor, and high schoolers on the third.

"It just seems like this is a check-the-box activity and palns are already being put into place," said Durham School of the Arts parent Brittney McGraw.

McGraw said she's concerned about the plans and she believes the school might be overcrowded. She's also unsure about the placement of the new building.

"I think the location is definitely going to put a lot of parents and children's time - a lot of students walk to school, a ton of walkers and bikes," McGraw said. "I think it's going to be hard for a lot of students and parents just to get their children to school."

Umstead says they are taking the development one step at a time - and a larger building will allow more families to attend the popular school.

"Durham School of the Arts is a school that often has a long wait list, and we know that families want to go," Umstead said.

Umstead said she's interested in the community conversation around the building.

"I have questions based on what I've heard from community folks around is this the right plan moving forward?" Umstead said. "So, I want to make sure i have my questions answered."

WRAL News is working to learn what will happen to the current building if the school changes location. School board members haven’t decided yet, but Umstead said it will likely be used for educational purposes.

The Durham Public Schools meeting is set to start at 6:30 p.m. Thursday.