Work On New $256M Somerville High School Halfway Done

SOMERVILLE, MA — Preserving history, forging into a new era, and creating a space to serve both Somerville High School students and the greater community were all goals when plans for a new Somerville High School were launched in 2012. Now 15 months into construction, the project is more than halfway complete ahead of the expected grand opening in the fall of 2020.

Work has been going on at a furious pace at the campus on Highland Avenue in recent weeks as contractors push to get the most disruptive phase of the $256 million project done before students return to the half-built, half-demolished school next month.

"We try to plan it so the bulk of the work that produces the loudest noise will occur during summer and school vacations," said Building Committee Chair Tony Pierantozzi, who has been involved with the process since the outset as the former Superintendent of Schools. "We will get this year's demolishing done prior to the start of the school year. That is the noisiest, dirtiest part of the project — even though we do spray it with water. (Green Line Extension) work is being done there too — there is nothing we can do about that — but at least we can make our work a little bit quieter during the school year because we don't want to interrupt the students."

Pierantozzi said transparency and communication has been key to the project with frequent updates on the building's website.

The transformation of the site will conclude with some of the oldest portions still standing. The 1895 front of the old high school will be preserved and donated back to the city, the current fieldhouse — which will be closed this school year while the roof is replaced — is being kept, and the 1929 original gymnasium that was converted to a library in 1985 will remain. The wing that houses the auditorium, cafeteria and music studios will be in use for one more year before being torn down after students move into the new school.

There will then be room for an athletic field on the high school campus for the first time with a lighted turf field, which is smaller than a full-sized football or soccer field due to space restrictions, available for physical education classes and some night activities on campus.

"When this project is complete, Somerville High School students will be learning in a building designed to meet the full range of modern educational needs," Somerville Mayor Joseph Curtatone said. "State-of-the-art facilities in every subject area — whether STEAM (sciences, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics), the humanities, vocational training, or more — will give our students and teachers access to the best learning environments.

"Our high school students were already doing some exceptional things, but I can't wait to see what they do in exceptional facilities," Curtatone continued. "As a side bonus, the benefits of the new school and campus also extend to the community with new public event space, redesigned and expanded green space, and an athletic field all coming online with this project as well."

The arduous process of educating more than 1,200 students amid a school project that is half rebuild and half renovation began when the current site was selected out of a field of 22 options throughout the city. Although building parts of the new school while the old school was in session in adjacent buildings and 18 portable classrooms was a challenge, the viable alternatives were few.

"We could not create the acreage we needed at a new site without taking enormous amounts of property by eminent domain," Pierantozzi said. "There was no appetite for that. No. 1 because it would have been very expensive, and No. 2 because it would have been a hardship on our residents."

Pierantozzi said the goal of the new few weeks is to get the steel beams in place — the final beam of the western wing is scheduled to be put in place on Monday — and concrete poured in parts of the new building so work can be done inside during the school year. This will cause congestion on Highland Avenue through August.

"We are aware of the noise in the neighborhoods and we schedule the work to make sure it does not start too early," Pierantozzi said. "Then we make sure the Somerville police are informed whenever we have large machinery moving on an off the street so they can help with the traffic."

Pierantozzi echoed Curtatone's sentiments that the end result will be transformational for the city.

"We're building this not as just a school but also as a community space," Pierantozzi said. "It will be something that Somerville has never really had before."