​Hardy/Upham Project: Next steps
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MSBA Board Meeting on Schematic Design Submission
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The Town of Wellesley is partnering with the Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA) to replace one elementary school in Wellesley. The MSBA formally invited the Upham Elementary School as the project of record, but they allowed the Town to study the redevelopment of both the Upham and Hardy campuses for the consolidated school that will support a 365 student enrollment. The final Upham Elementary School Educational Program describes how the WPS staff will deliver education in the new facility.
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The School Building Committee (SBC) conducted a feasibility study on both the Hardy and Upham sites, evaluating addition/renovation and new construction options at various locations on each site. The SBC’s final recommendation was to build new construction Hardy option 7b at the Hardy site. As required by the MSBA, this recommendation received affirmative votes from the School Committee and the Select Board and was approved at the MSBA Board Meeting on December 16, 2020, therefore entering MSBA Module 4: Schematic Design. The design and construction of the project is being overseen by the Town’s Permanent Building Committee (PBC) with input from the restructured School Building Committee, as required by the MSBA. Click here for more information on PBC membership and responsibilities.
Since December 2020, the PBC has overseen the development of the schematic design for the Hardy site and building. The current schematic design is estimated to be about 30% through the development of the final design. Further design will take place during the design development phase which would commence after a successful debt exclusion. In June 2021, the PBC authorized the Owner’s Project Manager to submit the schematic design package to the MSBA in completion of the requirements of Module 4. The Hardy schematic design submission is expected to be reviewed at the August MSBA meeting.
Key tentative upcoming dates for this project include a Special Town Meeting in October and a debt exclusion in December to seek funding for the detailed design and construction phases.
For additional information about the current phase of the project, visit the Meetings tab for the most recent presentation materials discussed at the Permanent Building Committee. The recordings of the meetings are also available on Wellesley Media
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