RE Log Spring 2018

SPRING 2018 Ransom Everglades LOG 31 The decision at Miami City Hall concluded a lengthy approval process that began soon after the school purchased the property along the northern edge of the school’s Main Highway campus in June 2016. Commissioners indicated they supported the RE plan because it not only ensures the prosperity of generations of students but also enables RE to continue to be an active and generous community partner while respecting the natural riches of Coconut Grove. The school’s plan envisions the addition of just one new build- ing – a future student commons – on the La Brisa property as RE adapts the 1920s home on the land so that it can serve academic and administrative purposes. The extensive mangroves and tree canopies on the property will be preserved. The plan, which was lauded by the Historic Preservation Society of Coral Gables for “good stewardship,” calls for tree-lined quads, expansive lawns and additional landscaping on the current Upper School campus. The approved plan represents the merging of RE’s vision for the La Brisa land with the school’s previously approved plan for the existing Ransom Campus. That proposal won approval by the Miami City Commission in 2014 and includes a proposed STEM Center. The addition of the La Brisa property nearly doubles the size of the Ransom Campus. Commissioner Ken Russell applauded Ransom Everglades for resisting the temptation to maximize to every corner of the La Brisa land in terms of density, parking spaces and construction additions. The decision “validates the 19 months of hard work and thought- ful planning that went into presenting our vision for the future of our school,” Head of School Penny Townsend said in a letter to the RE community. “I am proud that, throughout this process, we remained faithful to our school’s values.”