SWAMPSCOTT — There are six preliminary designs at three sites in town, and any one of them could end up as Swampscott’s next elementary school.
The Swampscott School Building Committee, as well as architects from Lavallee Brensinger Architects, and Hill International Inc. — the company managing the project on behalf of the town — have been narrowing options to come up with a preferred design for a school to replace Hadley Elementary School on Redington Street.
Ultimately, the town will submit a preferred design to the state this fall, and so far the options have been narrowed to six. Of the six design options, three are at the current Hadley Elementary School site, one is at the Swampscott Middle School, 207 Forest Ave., and two are at the Stanley School, 10 Whitman Road.
The three Hadley Elementary School options include Option 1, a $64 to $75 million project that would be an addition and renovation to the current building. The option would be 85,000 square feet to the three-story building. Stanley and Clarke elementary schools would remain open, and fifth-graders would still go to Swampscott Middle School under this option, as Hadley Elementary School would remain a K-4 school, but expanded.
Option 2 constructs a new K-4 school in place of Hadley Elementary School for $63 to $73 million, with a redesigned building footprint that has the gym, cafeteria, and administration in the center of the building, with two wings for classrooms branching off to the east and west. Option 2 would be about 75,000 in square footage.
Option 3, also at Hadley, would be a new construction similar to Option 2, with a central area flanked by two wings for classrooms. However, the building would be bigger than Option 2 by about 17,000 square feet, and would accommodate 3-5. At a cost of $71 to $83 million, the school would serve all of the town’s third-through-fifth graders, with Stanley and Clarke elementary schools becoming K-2 schools, and fifth graders moving into the new building from the middle school.
Option 4 also encompasses grades 3-5, but would be at the middle school, with new construction of a four-story building at about 92,000 square feet and cost around $71 to $83 million.
Options 7A and 7B (the fifth and sixth options), both would see a new school constructed for all of the town’s elementary school students, from kindergarten through fourth grade. These designs would accommodate around 900 students, while the other K-4 designs accommodate around 390 students, and the grades three to five options accommodate 540 students. Both Option 7A and 7B would be around 185,000 square feet at the current site of Stanley School. Option 7A is a three-story building, while Option 7B is two stories. Both buildings are estimated to cost between $97 million and $114 million.
A preferred — but preliminary — schematic design will be sent to the Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA) in October, followed by a final schematic design in April next year. In June 2021, MSBA will vote on whether to approve the project and determine how much of the project will be state-funded. Then, in September 2021, the town will vote on whether to go forward with the project and approve the town’s share of funding.
Community forums will be held on Aug. 25 and Sept. 8 to continue to review the designs, final by a final review of a preferred design on Sept. 22. To watch the upcoming community forums, visit the School Building Committee’s website at sites.google.com/swampscott.k12.ma.us/sbc/home.
Those with questions about the school building project may call 617-821-5075 or email [email protected].
