South School designs change
Published on July 29th, 1998
STONEHAM, MA - The redesign of South School was approved by the School Building Committee and the School Committee in separate meetings during the past week. The redesign, considered a great improvement over the original, now features elimination of a parking garage and the use of three parcels of land, abutting the existing school, that have recently been purchased by the town.
Following town acquisition of 5, 7, and 9 Summer Street, in mid June and early July, the new South School has been redesigned to exclude an on-site garage, which the state approved in the original design package for the elementary school rebuilding project. The garage would have come with an estimated price tag of $1 million.
With the additional land, the state has indicated approval of the concept change and is anticipating review of the redesign now that the Building Committee and School Committee have endorsed it.
Landscape architect Bob Corning, of Geller Associates, presented the latest designs to the Building Committee last Wednesday, highlighting aspects of the site which have undergone change from the original design, such as the hard top play area, grass play area, tot lot and parking.
According to Corning, a hard surface play area will now take the place of the three residences. Following discussion of the uses of this area, the Building Committee determined that a basketball court would be included in this area, possibly along with painted games such as hopscotch and 4-square.
According to committee member Maureen Soley, a similar existing basketball court at Robin Hood School is very popular both during the school day and in the evenings. Corning stated that 10-foot-high fencing along Summer Street would be required.
In response to committee member Marie Christie's request for more aesthetically pleasing fencing, such as steel picket, committee chairman Dan Hogan advised that fencing is "usually the thing you put in when you look at the money you have left."
"In my experience, fencing has always been put off till the end," stated Hogan. Corning advised that he will look into fencing options and report back to the committee with recommendations and estimates.
The tot lot is now situated between the hard surface play area and the entrance to the kindergarten and pre-school classrooms. A slight changing in grade between the tot lot and hard surface area will be accommodated by a ramp with a wall and possibly a gate between the two areas.
The site's grass play area, estimated at 9,000 square feet, is a half story higher than the building's first floor, due to the grade of the property. The area will be surrounded by trees and ledge. Corning stated that the plan attempts to maximize the area without a tremendous amount of fill.
Soley stated that with such a small site, "we'll have to utilize the soft play area as well as the hard for 400 kids."
Committee member David Gardner agreed, stating "there are absolutely no play areas in the south end of town."
The parking lot off of Summer Street will accommodate 60 cars and provide for a 1-way loop for drop off. According to Corning, this design pleased the Fire Department due to the improved turning radius.
Architect Duncan McClelland, from Earl R. Flansburgh & Associates, illustrated what he called "fairly minor modifications" to the inside of the South School building.
The only change is in the addition of a stairwell, from the cafeteria area on the bottom level, to the gymnasium area above. This change, he stated, was indicated due to insufficient units of egress in the original design, as required by code. Additional storage space under the stairs is gained in the redesign. The outside of the stairwell was capped with a shed roof, keeping in line with the design of the building.
On Tuesday night, McClelland reported to the School Committee that "everything has fallen into place," with regard to the acquisition of the additional land, and the subsequent redesign of the site.
"It is a great improvement to have the garage eliminated," he stated, pointing out the additional cost of maintenance which would have been necessary if a garage was needed.
McClelland stated that once Building Committee and School Committee approval was secured, the plan would then be taken back to the state for its approval.
"They know it's coming...They understand the concept...It's now just a matter of running it past them and making sure there are no issues," he said.
McClelland also stated that the redesign would have to be signed off by various town departments, such as the Fire, Police, Public Works and the Building Inspector.
Once all of these approvals have been obtained, McClelland estimated that drawings could go out for general bid by mid-September. With that process taking approximately six weeks, demolition of the existing school building and the three houses on Summer Street could begin.
"That's our timeline now," he stated, anticipating no problem with state and local approvals.
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