Exploris School proposes 10-story building near Duke Energy center in Raleigh

The Exploris School, a charter school in downtown Raleigh, has filed plans to build a 10-story combination office and school building on 5.5 acres near the Duke Energy Center for the Performing Arts.

The property, at 120 Kindley St., is home to a former Duke Energy data center and was acquired by Exploris for $4.4 million in May.

Exploris first planned to renovate the existing building with $20 million in bonds and a capital campaign. But the school filed plans with the city late last month that call for demolishing the structure and parking lot and constructing a new 10-story, 355,889-square-foot building that will hold both the school and office space.

The site would also have a parking deck, courtyard and a large lawn area.

In May, school officials said the new building will allow it to consolidate its elementary and middle schools on a single campus.

When officials said they would move the school to the existing building, they said it would require at least 53,000 square feet.

The site is zoned to allow up to a 20-story building on the property.

Exploris Middle School is now at 401 Hillsborough St., while the elementary school operates out of trailers on New Bern Avenue. It started as a middle school in 1997 and added kindergarten through fifth grade in 2014. In May, the middle school had 218 students, while the elementary school had 206 students.

The city had envisioned possibly locating an entertainment and sports arena on the southern edge of downtown where the Exploris campus will reside. The project was included in a 10-year vision for downtown’s future.

This story was originally published December 23, 2016 at 1:55 PM with the headline "Exploris School proposes 10-story building near Duke Energy center in Raleigh."