Ai3

Architect Assures School Committee That Renovated Schools Will be ‘Like New’

By |

The firm hired to advise the School Committee about renovating and rebuilding the town’s schools said a renovated school would be as good as a new one, and showed before and after photos of spaces that had been transformed at other schools the firm had worked on. On Monday night, the School Committee voted to take the first step toward renovating Watertown’s three elementary schools, tasking Superintendent Dede Galdston to work with officials on the Town side to hire an owner’s project manager and a design firm. In July, architectural firm Ai3 presented a potential plan for upgrading the town’s elementary schools which called mostly for renovation of the current campuses with some new additions to the buildings. School Committee Chairman John Portz said since then he has received questions from the community about whether the renovated parts would be redesigned to meet modern standards or just brought up to working condition. Town Council President Mark Sideris got similar calls, wondering why the schools are not being torn down and rebuilt.

Scott Dunlap, principal of architecture firm Ai3, brought some photos showing schools before and after renovations.

Government

Plan Calls for Town’s Elementary Schools to be Renovated First, Then the High School

By |

An architecture firm hired by the Watertown Public Schools laid out a vision for how all five of the town’s schools could be renovated so they can provide a 21st century education, and recommended doing all three elementary schools at once followed by the high school and finally the middle school. Thursday night, Ai3 Principal Scott Dunlap presented a plan for upgrading Watertown’s five public schools over the next several years to a meeting held by both the School Committee and Town Council. Timeline
The timeline laid out by Ai3 – a firm that works solely on school projects – would start planning for the three elementary schools immediately with the goal of starting construction in late 2019 and completing the work by early 2021, Dunlap said. Meanwhile, the district would be working with the Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA) to get funding for and renovate Watertown High School. Construction would begin at the high school in early 2021. The timeline does not have an end date for work at WHS.

Building for the Future

School Renovation Projects to be Discussed When School, Town Officials Meet

By |

All five Watertown public schools will be renovated over the next several years during the Building for the Future project but before the work can begin projects must be approved not only by the School Committee, but also the Town Council. Ultimately Watertown voters will have to approve funding. On Thursday, July 27, a joint meeting of the School Committee and Town Council will be held to start discussions of the school renovation projects. Consultants Ai3 will present their recommendations at the meeting, which will be at 6 p.m. in the Council Chamber in Town Hall, 149 Main St., Watertown. According to the timeline created by Ai3 (see the timeline here), the three elementary would be worked on first.