The Los Angeles Unified School District is pulling down the Oso Elementary School, located in Woodland Hills.
The building has sat vacant for 30 years, and is becoming increasingly dilapidated. It will not be possible to reuse the structures that are located on the site, which comprises seven acres bounded by Laramie and Oso avenues, as well as Califa Street.
There are five buildings on the site, as well as a play area, an arcade, and a lunch pavilion. The school district plans to build a campus that will hold the Academy of Integrated Arts and Technology, a school for gifted students in grades six through twelve.
According to the district's chief facilities officer, Mark Hovatter, it will probably take about 50 days to demolish the structures. First on the schedule is an environmental cleanup, as Hovatter expects to find both mold and asbestos. He notes that the demolition will be conducted with stringent safety measures in place, and when asbestos is removed, those building sections where the work is being done will be sealed to prevent contamination.
The environmental cleanup will take two or three weeks, and then heavy construction equipment will be brought in to finish the job. Hovatter does not expect the project to impact traffic in any way, and notes the heavy equipment will be kept away from the street.
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