Minerva France Elementary School, Westerville City Schools

The Call: A Site with History, a Name with Meaning, a Community That Deserved Investment

The site had layers of history. It was once the Minerva Amusement Park, then the Minerva Lake Golf Course, and had recently become a new residential neighborhood. Westerville City Schools needed a new elementary school in this part of the district, an area that had been historically underserved. The district needed land from the housing developer. The developer needed access through property the district already owned. Triad helped the district negotiate the deal, leveraging that mutual need to secure the school site. The community then chose a name that raised the stakes for everything that followed: Minerva France Elementary School, honoring a Minerva Park resident and one of the first Black women to earn a degree in Library Science. The school would serve one of the most diverse student populations in the district, with no single majority group. Every element of this project carried meaning.

Choosing a Partner Who Understands That This School Is About More Than a Building

When a school carries this much significance, from the site’s history to the name to the community it serves, the design partner needs to understand that every decision matters beyond its functional purpose. The district needed a team that could negotiate a land deal, think like a kid, honor a trailblazer’s legacy, celebrate diversity, manage COVID inflation, and weave a site’s history into the fabric of a new building. They chose Triad.

The Decisions That Made This School Live Up to Its Name

The land deal came first. The district needed a site within the new residential development, and the developer needed access through district-owned property. That mutual need created leverage. Triad helped the district negotiate an agreement that secured the school site and gave the developer the access they required. Without that deal, there would be no school.

With the site secured, the district issued a challenge to the design team: think like a kid. The site’s history as the Minerva Amusement Park and Minerva Lake Golf Course gave the team a rich palette to work with. Themes from the amusement park and golf course were woven into the design, connecting the children inside the building to the history of the ground beneath their feet. The district also made a deliberate architectural choice: the front of the building, facing the new residential neighborhood, would be contextually appropriate and respectful of its surroundings. The back of the building, the side for the kids, would be colorful, playful, and unmistakably designed for children. Two faces of the same school, each designed for its audience.

The naming of the school added a layer of significance that shaped how the design was received. The community voted to honor Minerva France, a Minerva Park resident and one of the first Black women to earn a degree in Library Science. That name set an expectation: this building should not feel ordinary. The school serves one of the most diverse student populations in the district, with no single majority group. The design reflects that diversity, creating a welcoming environment where every child, regardless of background, sees a school that was built for them.

COVID-era construction inflation threatened to erode the budget before the most meaningful elements could be built. The district used strategic alternates to manage the volatility, protecting the design features that carry the school’s identity and history while maintaining flexibility in less critical areas. Triad structured the alternates. The district made the prioritization decisions.

A School That Honors Every Layer of Meaning It Carries

Today, Minerva France Elementary School stands on ground that was once an amusement park and a golf course, and those histories live in the building’s design. The front of the school greets the neighborhood with respect. The back greets the children with color, playfulness, and joy. A diverse student body with no single majority walks into a school named after a woman who broke barriers, and the building reflects the significance of that name in every detail. The land was secured through smart negotiation. COVID inflation was managed through strategic alternates. And a historically underserved part of the district received a facility investment that proves the community matters. The district’s leadership accepted the challenge to think like a kid, honored a trailblazer’s legacy, and delivered a school that refuses to be ordinary.