Lincoln-Eliot School Building Committee Votes To Renovate, Add

Newton MA

15 November, 2021

11:00 AM

Description

NEWTON, MA — The Lincoln-Eliot School Building Committee voted unanimously Tuesday night to focus on addition and renovation options rather than new construction. The future of the existing structure, located at the former location of Aquinas College at 150 Jackson Road, has been debated for months by residents, parents, educators, and school staff, who ultimately came to a decision based on several reasons, including preservation, timing, and the city's environmental goals. "The addition and renovation options can meet and exceed the school program and they provide a finished school building comparable to the Angier, Zervas, and Cabot School projects," said Mayor Ruthanne Fuller in an update Friday. "This option also preserves a historic facility, avoids delays in the project schedule, and is superior from an embodied carbon and environmental perspective." "We will continue working together to find the best possible option for the building and the site in the coming months," she continued. Lincoln-Eliot, currently located at 191 Pearl Street, was originally built in 1939 and had additions constructed in 1965 and 1974. In 2016, the school received a rating of 3 (scale: 1 best condition - 4 worst condition) on the Massachusetts School Building Authority's Facility Needs Survey and a rating of 3.1 for facility condition and 4 for educational space needs on the Newton Schools Long-Range Facilities Master Plan. Due to the close proximity and site size, the district decided that 150 Jackson Road is a promising new location for the school. Construction is set to begin shortly after the Newton Early Childhood Program moves out of the building into a new home at 687 Watertown Street. The decision to renovate and add onto the building rather than build a new structure will save the city approximately $14 million, according to committee members. However, they have not yet voted upon a preferred addition and renovation option. Updates on the Lincoln-Eliot project can be found here.