Gibbs Building Redesign Starting Thursday

The Gibbs Building redesign to accommodate the sixth-grade class will start June 1, the Town and Finegold Alexander Architects announced.

Arlington voted in 2015 to once again make the Gibbs Building a school, creating a standalone sixth-grade school for 500 students. It is expected to unburden the "overcrowded" Ottoson Middle School, a post on the city's website said.

The building is expected to be ready for the 2018-19 school year.

Finegold Alexander Architects is handling the design, which will include a renovated main entrance on the Foster Street side, create flexible classrooms, and develop breakout collaborative spaces in the corridors. The media center will be also be updated.

"We are editing out, rather than adding to the building," said Tony Hsiao, a principal at Finegold Alexander Architects.

The Gibbs Building was built as a school in 1928, and a new addition was added during a 1973 renovation. The school was decommissioned about 25 years ago when enrollment dwindled. Since then it has been leased to non-profits.