LYNN — The city is working alongside members of the Massachusetts School Building Authority to search for designers for construction of the new Pickering Middle School building.
The Request for Designer Services, published July 20, states that the current school building at 70 Conomo Ave. lacks classroom space and ADA accessibility. Built in 1905 and renovated in 1953, the building has also weathered structural damage due to its age.
“The largest issue facing the city is the lack of capacity at the current schools to meet the population of the city, as well as the age of its existing facilities with their associated deficiencies. Currently, the city is experiencing severe overcrowding in its schools,” the request said.
“The building has serious issues with the exterior shell due to deteriorated masonry, a failing roof, windows long beyond their lifespan, and numerous deficiencies with the door components of the exterior egress system. The building also has serious deficits in the mechanical and electrical systems … the power distribution within the school is inadequate to meet the needs of a 21st century school.”
Chief of Inspectional Services Michael Donovan said that the city’s architectural design selection process, slated to be completed in October, will center around the candidates’ experience with designing urban school buildings.
“ Lynn is a gateway city. We’re an urban district, we’re a port district, so if you drove through the state you’ll see there’s cities and there’s suburbs. The schools that are built in the suburbs are usually two stories and they’re spread out. If you look at the Thurgood Marshall School which opened in 2016, it’s a very small site and the building’s four stories high,” Donovan said. “Because we have a lack of space and the cost of real estate, we need an architect who has experience in urban settings, who can deal with traffic, utilities, foundations.”
In a 2017 special election, Lynn residents voted to reject an $188.5 million debt exclusion proposition to build two new schools: Pickering, as well as an additional West Lynn Middle School building. Donovan said that the city’s experience with designing two middle schools in the past should facilitate and expedite the process this time around.
“It’s a process we’ve been through, we’re familiar with it, we’ll do everything we can to facilitate getting it done quicker because having been through this process, we want to make sure that we can get this school to open sooner rather than later. We should be able to be done with our design quicker because we’ve designed the school. We’ve already designed the school once, so in a nutshell, that’s where we are and that’s where we’re going,” Donovan said.
At this time, the city has not selected a site for the new Pickering building. In 2017, the citizen activist group Protect Our Reservoir, Preserve Pine Grove actively campaigned against the school’s construction because members said the Parkland Avenue site could damage the Breeds Pond Reservoir. Policy Director for the mayor’s office Danya Smith said that before the city decides on a site, they will engage with the community to gather the public’s opinion.
“They voted that down in a referendum for a number of reasons, but one of the things was the location of Pickering. So we are going to make sure that we are soliciting input, listening to residents, listening to folks, but we are concerned about the site of the new Pickering,” Smith said.
In 2017, the MSBA highlighted Thurgood Marshall Middle School as a model school under their model schools program. Smith said that with this project, the city aims to work with the MSBA to create a learning environment similar to Thurgood Marshall’s.
“You go in that building, and you can feel a 21st century learning environment. There’s natural light, high ceilings, there is adequate space for a range of activities from academic classes to education,” Smith said. “I think we’re looking for something along the lines of that. Something the students deserve in terms of academic space. I’d also just note that we’re asking the MSBA to explore using the Marshall Middle School as a model.”
Donovan said that the new Pickering Middle School will be of the same quality as the Thurgood Marshall School.
“The Pickering School will be just as good, if not better and it will have its own personality,” Donovan said.
Anthony Cammalleri can be reached at [email protected].
