Old Springdale Elementary building in Macon set to be demolished. See progress on new one

Wednesday brought mixed emotions to some at Macon’s Springdale Elementary School, as it marked the last day of classes for students at the old campus.

After 53 years, the school located at 4965 Northside Drive will be demolished and replaced with a neighboring, bigger facility this fall.

Brittany Gale, president of Springdale’s Parent Teacher Club, said that while staff and students are excited about the new opening, memories of the old school grounds leave them feeling bittersweet.

“Even my own kids, who are relatively newbies, are sad to leave the original Springdale building behind because of how much of a happy place it’s been for them for the past three years,” Gale told The Telegraph.

A recent post from the elementary school’s Facebook page gives sneak peeks of the 90,410-square-foot structure’s front office, lunch room and classrooms.

On May 3, current and former students, teachers and community members had the chance to say their final goodbyes to the original location and reminisce on its 53-year history at the Springdale Elementary Memory Walk.

Gale attended the event, where she said she spoke with individuals who were at the school when it opened in 1971 and got to see everyone come back one last time.

“One thing was clear, Springdale is more than a building. It’s a community that has made an impact on people for life,” she said “I’m grateful my family gets to be a tiny part of the legacy of such an amazing school.”

Kenneth Chambless said the event was neat, and it was emotional for him to walk the halls again.

“My brothers and I attended Springdale,” Chambless said. “My mom, Peggy Chambless, taught there for 25 years. I wish she would have been here to get one more look.”

Gale said one of her favorite memories from the old location will be daily walk-ups, which allowed parents to park at the school and wait for their students to be dismissed. It fostered relationships with teachers and other parents, she added.

“As the Parent Teacher Club, we are so excited to bring the legacy of Springdale into the new building and to make some new and amazing memories,” she said.

When is the demolition?

Sam Kitchens, the Bibb County School District assistant superintendent of operations, said the original building’s 50-year-old infrastructure called for a demolition.

“The new updated facility allows for reductions in energy and maintenance costs, state-of-the-art equipment and a modern learning environment equitable to other district facilities,” Kitchens said in an email.

The new site will also address carpool concerns by having a 120 car line capacity, as well as an increased parking space capacity of 175 spaces and an individualized bus drop-off area near at the rear of the facility, Kitchens added.

The new Springdale Elementary School will have the capacity for 900 students.

Demolition of the original school will begin after Memorial Day, said Jeremy Timmerman, Bibb County School District spokesperson.

The new school will maintain the same Northside Drive address, Timmerman added.

The Bibb County Board of Education approved the construction of the new Springdale Elementary School in late 2022.