Around Town

Community Forum on Watertown High School to Discuss Traffic Studies, Swing Space

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Ai3 ArchtiectsA rendering of what the new Watertown High School will look like (note the colors have not been settled). The latest community forum for the Watertown High School project will include a discussion of the final traffic studies for both the new WHS and the temporary location at Moxley Field. The forum, which is the 10th for the project, will be held on Wednesday, May 18 at approximately 7 p.m. It will follow the School Building Committee meeting, which starts at 6 p.m. Participants can join remotely via Zoom. Other subjects will include review of the swing space projects, a look at the project schedule and there will be an opportunity for questions and comments. The presentation for the forum will be posted on the Watertown Building for the Future site prior to the meeting.

Ai3 Architects

Construction Underway on Lowell School Renovation, Project Has it Challenges

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Charlie BreitroseMembers of the construction team working on the Lowell School renovation project look up at the school during the groundbreaking ceremony. City Council President Mark Siders had a big grin on his face as he held up three fingers and donned a construction helmet. On Wednesday afternoon, he and others involved with the Watertown Public Schools’ building projects gathered for the official groundbreaking at Lowell Elementary School’s renovations and expansion — the district’s third elementary school project in recent years. The site work had already commenced at the school that overlooks Orchard Street. Like the other two elementary school projects, Lowell was designed by Ai3 Architects and the project management firm is Hill International.

Schools

Lowell School Project Will Kick Off With Groundbreaking Ceremony

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Ai3 ArchitectsA rendering of the renovated and expanded Lowell Elementary School. The following announcement was provided by CTA Construction:

CTA Construction was awarded the contract in March to renovate and add two new additions to the historic Lowell Elementary School. The groundbreaking ceremony is set to take place on April 27 at 4:30 p.m.

CTA staff members will join the school building committee, members of the community, andschool district staff for the ceremony. “We are happy to be working again with both Ai3 Architects and owner’s project management firm Hill International,” said Jeff Hazelwood, principal of CTA Construction Managers. CTA Construction has previously worked with Hill International on eight projects, including the Tufts Library for the Town of Weymouth.

Government

Funding to Renovate, Expand Lowell School Approved by Council

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Ai3 ArchitectsA view of what the renovation to the Lowell School, including the addition seen on the right, which has tall windows, including on the corners. The funds for Watertown’s third elementary school project got approval from the City Council Tuesday night. The Lowell Elementary School project, unlike the first two, will not be a brand new school. Instead the historic building will undergo a major renovation and will have some additions. The approval for borrowing $48.895 million for the Lowell project on Tuesday came on the same night that the Council approved borrowing $198 million to construct the new Watertown High School.

Building for the Future

Watertown High School Project Gets Approval from State

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Ai3 ArchitectsAn illustration of what the outside of the new Watertown High School will look like. The plan to build new Watertown High School passed the last major hurdle when the state approved the project on Wednesday. The Massachusetts School Building Authority voted to approve the project on March 2. The new school will be built on the same location as the current school, and architects projected the cost at $201 million at the Dec. 15, 2021 School Building Committee meeting.

Schools

Outdoor Spaces Planned for High School Project, Committee Wants More Details

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Ai3 ArchitectsThe outdoor space around the new Watertown High School will include an amphitheater west of the school, an outdoor learning area to the east, and a grassy area to the south. Designs for the new Watertown High School are coming together, but the School Building Committee would like some more specifics about the area east of the school. Landscape architects made some changes of the outdoor area along Common Street, said Arthur Eddy of Traverse at the Feb. 16 School Building Committee meeting. “You asked us to reduce paving within the site along Common Street,” Eddy said.

Schools

LETTER: Watertown Father Excited for New Hosmer School

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Editor,

Yesterday (Tuesday) my family and I toured the new Hosmer elementary school. It was so exciting! The school building committee, architects, and construction crews have done a great job. The whole thing was beautiful. I loved the colorful hallways, big open classrooms and warm, welcoming environs all around.

Schools

See Photos from the Opening of the New Hosmer School & Rededication

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Charlie BreitroseParents and students head to the grand opening celebration of the new Hosmer School on Feb. 1, 2022. Watertown’s newest elementary school opened for the public to see Tuesday afternoon, and the bright and spacious three-story Hosmer School wowed those who roamed its halls and classrooms.

Superintendent Dede Galdston welcomed attendees who crowded the courtyard between the two wings of the Eastside school, and noted that it was just four months ago that the City opened another new school. “Many superintendents and city managers go through their entire career never opening a school and here we are opening the second in a year and a third on the way,” Galdston said, referring to Cunniff and Lowell schools. “And a new high school in the not too distant future.”