Aesthetics key in Marblehead school project

MARBLEHEAD – The Glover School Building Committee wants to give the town more than a bargain – the committee also wants to give the town a building attractive enough to stand as an introduction to Marblehead.The school is at the intersection of Maple, Tedesco and Humphrey streets, and it is the first municipal building seen by people entering town from Swampcott and Vinnin Square, including first-time home buyers.Its appearance is likely to be an on-going topic of discussion. The committee meets again Wednesday at 7 p.m. at the Glover School.After a proposed $28.8 million new school failed by 71 votes in a debt exclusion override in June, the committee continued its feasibility study to see if the costs could be reduced.However, in real estate the important thing is location and committee members were reminded of that at their last meeting.?The Glover site is on a major intersection,” Superintendent of Schools Paul Dulac said, comparing the elementary school to Marblehead High and the Marblehead Veterans Middle School, which are uphill from the street and have less visual impact. “(The Glover) is aesthetically unique and should be looked at differently.”School Committee member Dick Nohelty told the architect to “Keep the essence of the building, some of the characteristics that fit the neighborhood. It looks like this building was intended to be there.”That issue is likely to be important as the committee looks at the possibility of using one of the Massachusetts School Building Authority model school designs at the Glover site.Committee members made a site visit to one of the Model Schools in Groton, Conn. Monday and they were scheduled to view presentations by the architectural firms that designed the MSBA?s four model schools today. They now have a week to decide if they want to use one of those firms to adapt a model school building to their sites, and the MSBA board will vote to approve any committee decisions Nov. 17.If the Glover Committee votes to use a Model School proposal, which is eligible for 40 percent reimbursement, plans will be ready for the May Town Meeting to vote on, final designs could be ready in five months and the new Glover School could open in September, 2013.