LYNN — The new Pickering Middle School, pending approval from the Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA), will be built at Magnolia Park.
The Pickering School Building Committee voted on Wednesday to approve the committee’s top site choice, Magnolia Park, as the selection to be submitted in a preliminary design proposal to the MSBA on Jan. 18.
At a public hearing Monday night, the project’s lead architect Gene Raymond presented the committee’s top three site choices — Rockdale Avenue, Broadway, and Magnolia Park — and announced that Magnolia Avenue was his first choice.
In summarizing said presentation on Wednesday, Raymond said that, of the three selections, Magnolia Park was most conveniently located, did not require any eminent domain takings, and was not situated on top of a rock foundation.
“There are no takings required. As I said, it’s near the indicated bus routes, and it’s most centrally located. We know that the soils here are not bedrock,” Raymond said.
Raymond added that the site’s close proximity to MBTA bus routes would make it ideal for the future relocation of Thurgood Marshall and Breed Middle School students.
“We don’t know what redistricting is going to entail, but we know that you will be pulling students from Thurgood Marshall and/or Breed up into this new district,” Raymond said. “The streets that have the yellow highlighted lines on them are all streets that are serviced by MBTA bus routes, and they connect to various parts of the Thurgood Marshall and Breed districts.”
When Zoning Board of Appeals member Flory Makuwa asked Raymond how the committee intended to handle stormwater flooding risks prevalent in the Magnolia Park area, Raymond responded that the school would have to be constructed a few feet above ground level to allow water to run underneath it.
“There is a floodplain on this site, but our civil engineer has said that it’s a very shallow floodplain, and that we really only would have to raise the building two or three feet above the existing ground level, and the water would simply pass underneath it,” Raymond said.
Raymond referenced Thurgood Marshall’s elevated construction as an example for the new school’s aesthetic appearance.
“If you’re familiar with Thurgood Marshall, when you go to the front door there, there’s a ramp and stairs, you know, that slab is up, probably three or four feet from the existing sidewalk. It’s anything that’s going to have an aesthetic impact,” he said.
Committee member Tom Mannion said that although he supported the selection of Magnolia Park, he was also concerned about the site’s flooding potential.
“We had horrific rainstorms in October ’95 and ’96. The water did cascade down and went into the Little League field, into the elderly housing place over there, and of course in the playground across the street,” Mannion said. “Raising the building is one part of that, but I think, overall, something’s got to be done to capture that water.”
School Committee member Lorraine Gately, who also serves on the building committee, said that she too wanted to make sure the committee would do everything they could to mitigate flooding.
“It’s not as simple as the water just rolls down and puddles down there for a while. People were canoeing in the park. And so I think we really need to look into that and make sure we do the best thing for that area so that we don’t have any problems with it,” Gately said.
After the committee voted to approve the site, Mayor Jared Nicholson thanked the committee for their hard work during the school planning process.
“This is a huge milestone we just took tonight on this project. I can’t wait to continue working with you all to keep up the momentum to something really amazing for our students,” Nicholson said.
The committee plans to complete construction of the new Pickering School in September 2026.
