Two public information meetings took place March 12 concerning the development orders of The Goddard School for Early Childhood Development and The Palms Day School for Young Learners in Estero. 

Since its last presentation to the Estero Planning, Zoning and Design Board in November, Goddard’s engineering team has made architectural and design changes based on the board’s suggestions. 

The school is planned for the Plaza Del Sol subdivision on the southeast corner of Quente Way and Three Oaks Parkway. The developer plans for a two-story, 14,330-square-foot early development school, a 5,910-square-foot fenced-in playground, parking, drainage and utility connections on-site. 

As for landscaping, engineer Brent Addison of Banks Engineering said the plans are to include the existing mature trees and supplement them with shrubs and the other trees that are required. 

For the updated design, there was a focus on articulations and accents on the building and a bolder color palette, project architect Cheryl Schweiker said. 

“We’ve added some additional awnings and shutters over the windows, accentuated the roof lines with some corbels and making them more pronounced over the entry,” she said. “We’ve also added some tower elements to the corner at the entry and also at the corner of the intersection of the main streets.”  

Ultimately, the board suggested more articulation and detail on the building, along with more architectural details on the monument sign. Additionally, the board wanted the applicant to return with actual sample colors and possibly more awnings over the doors due to weather. 

For Palms Day School, the site is at the corner of Corkscrew and River Ranch roads.  

The applicant is proposing a two-story, 13,400-square-foot day care/preschool with an outdoor learning area and playground. The school will have a maximum capacity of 225 students from infant to preschool age and 22 members on staff. 

Some proposed changes to the site include decreasing the square footage of the building, originally slated for 14,700 square feet. The decrease in size resulted in a decrease in the student count from 260 to 225 and a reduction of staff size by two. 

Morning drop-off is proposed to span from about 6:30 to 9 a.m., with afternoon pick-up ranging from 2:30 to 6 p.m. 

The school will focus on incorporating natural light into classrooms, with all the classrooms opening to deep porches.  

“When it’s a beautiful day, they really want to make sure that the children have the ability to have that flow from indoor and outdoor,” Eugenia Forgang with Daniel Scott Turner Design said. “All of the classrooms are located on the perimeter of the building and more of those admin functions are in the interior spaces.” 

Board members generally complimented the design, but suggested the team return with top-quality renderings with color and landscaping.  

Board member Michael Sheeley also suggested redesigning the modern-looking monument sign to match the architecture of the building, which is more of an Old Florida style. 

“It’s a little hard for me personally to see the colors of this building and kind of understand them in three dimensions,” he said. “It’s a bit monochromatic in the elevations. I don’t think until we see those colored renderings when we really give you an opinion on how those colors are.” 

Since there is no landscape plan at this point, board member Kristin Jeannin suggested ornamental grasses to complement the architectural style of the building.  

Both applicants will return before a development order is granted. No vote is taken at public information meetings.