Hey, there! Log in / Register
City could build new high-school building to replace two antiquated schools
By adamg on Wed, 07/31/2013 - 4:37pm
A state agency that funds school construction projects today gave Boston permission to look at moving the Quincy Upper School and Boston Arts Academy into a new building, possibly on what is now state land near South Station.
The move could mean that if the project moves forward, the state will pay most of the costs - and the mayor's office is looking at opening the new building for the 2017 school year.
According to the mayor's office:
Under the proposal, both projects would unite in a new custom-built facility that allows the schools to share resources – expanding educational opportunities while being more cost-effective for taxpayers. If the proposal is successful, the new school could open in the fall of 2017. One potential location for the building is a parcel near Kneeland Street and South Station currently held by the Massachusetts Department of Transportation.
The Quincy Upper School, which serves grades 6-12, is now housed in what started out as an elementary school decades ago and lacks an auditorium and library and has inadequate science facilities. The arts academy, which serves grade 9-12, is in an old post-office warehouse in the Fenway and has no performance space.
Neighborhoods:
Free tagging:
Ad:
Support Universal Hub
Help keep Universal Hub going. If you like what we're up to and want to help out, please consider a (completely non-deductible) contribution.
Comments
This probably makes a lot of
This probably makes a lot of sense in the long run. And if the city were to sell off the land of the Arts Academy, I bet the Red Sox would be willing to pay a pretty penny to acquire it.
makes sense, Fenway High
makes sense, Fenway High School which shares the same building as Boston Arts Academy is moving to Mission Hill. If it all happens the rest of that block will be knocked down and something new will go up. It is already happening on the other end of the block, Boston Conservatory is building a new building across from Jillians.
The Sox shouldn't be allowed
The Sox shouldn't be allowed to buy it. They'd keep the same shitty building there or turn the whole thing into a surface parking lot. Let a hotel chain buy that lot. Next to the ballpark with restaurant/nightclubs below it would do well year round and provide a hefty noise buffer for all the old apartment buildings facing Boylston Street.
Well it's about time
It's really a long time coming for the Quincy Upper School they so deserve it and now that they have the international Baccalaureate program a new building would be nice.
I am sure that the fact that
I am sure that the fact that both schools are located in prime real estate that would fetch much more than the cost of a new school would cost the city had nothing to do with the plan...nope, not like the city to see $$$ where the interests of the residents are at stake...
Um...
You do realize that the city's money is very relevant to the interests of the residents, don't you? If the city can come out ahead on this, it benefits us in the long run.
FAA does so have performance space
But no one would call it adequate. It is amazing what they are able to do with the space they have, however.
That should be BAA. Also
That should be BAA. Also plenty of people in the Fenway High community would like the school to stay just where it is. Maybe with a new school building the whole domino effect of pushing a popular school out of its building (e.g., on Mission Hill) to make room for another school (Fenway High) can come to an end. To learn more about Fenway High and what it accomplishes, read Steve Marantz' Next Up at Fenway.
Could be another downtown elementary shool
We are woefully short of space in downtown schools and there are strong efforts in Back Bay/Beacon Hill and the North End to expand capacity. Some of that capacity has been addressed at the Eliot - but either using this space or the proceeds from selling it could be a good opportunity to add another downtown elementary school.
We are getting another downtownish school
The Mitt Romney Memorial HQ at 585 Commercial St. in the North End, being revamped into a school even as I type.
The Fenway and the Back Bay
The Fenway and the Back Bay are one of the largest areas in the city without an elementary school. If you look at a map, there's a huge school desert there:
http://bostonschoolchoice.files.wordpress.com/2012...
585 Commercial is a long way from the people in the Fenway and Back Bay. So far, in fact, that it's not an option offered to them under the new student assignment plan. And neither is the Eliot School - they'll lose that choice.
The new assignment plan is a good one, but Fenway and Back Bay fare worse than most if not all neighborhoods in terms of the change in school choices. The city has proposed letting families choose schools in Allston/Brighton, where there is capacity, but that's obviously not a good long-term solution.
Whether on this site or elsewhere, that area does need an elementary school. It could also be another option for Mission Hill, South End and Roxbury families, as it would be one of the closest high quality schools for many of them.