LexObserver Columnist Gerry Yurkevicz will be providing regular updates and analysis related to the Lexington High School building project.
The new Lexington High School Building Project (LHS) is now moving forward at a faster pace. The School Building Committee (SBC) is diligently addressing key design issues and conducting extensive community outreach. The most recent community meeting about the project was held on September 18. It was well attended both in-person and on-line. The quality of the questions and engagement was very high, on important issues such as the education program, student learning, cost, process, and plans for specific aspects of the design. Over 80% of residents who asked questions voiced their approval of the overall direction of the project, and most of those supported options involving new construction on the existing athletic fields.
Here’s a status update.
LHS Design Decision Time
The SBC is working toward a major milestone expected on November 12, 2024. At that time, the SBC is required to choose one conceptual design option for what’s known as the “Preferred Schematic Report (PSR),” to be submitted to the Massachusetts School Business Authority (MSBA), the state entity that helps support new school buildings, for review and approval. Once the chosen option is submitted, changes are difficult to make within the MSBA process. SMMA, the Town’s designer, is leading the SBC through a methodical process to make the final choices on a range of building issues. Recent decisions are coming fast and furious to meet the timeline, including:
- Square Footage: There will be 461,516 gross square feet proposed for the new LHS, including space for the Central Office administration. This represents a 42% increase in gross square feet from the current high school. Based on analysis by the Lexington Observer, the gross square footage appears reasonable given Lexington’s projected enrollment as well as MSBA guidelines.
- Parking Spaces: LHS will have about 500 parking spaces, including 60 for the Central Office. The existing LHS has 450 spaces. A parking structure will not be included in the proposal.
- Number of Floors: The buildings for any new building option constructed on the existing recreation fields will have 4 stories. The current LHS has 2 stories.
“New,” “Addition & Renovation,” and “New In-Place” Construction Options
The SBC is considering six basic options for the project, referred to as “massing studies,” which include plans for the size, placement, and basic layout but are not detailed designs. The options currently being considered include two renovation and addition options, three new construction options on the existing recreation fields, and one new construction option on the existing high school site, built in phases to allow classes to continue during construction. Deciding among these options is a complex and difficult choice.
The three options for new building on the current recreation fields each require only one construction phase lasting about four years, and no additional modular classrooms to house students during construction. These options are considered least disruptive to students. All the new construction options are designed in keeping with Lexington’s Educational Program.
For the novice in high school design, it takes a while to internalize how a building enables the Educational Program. The new LHS is not just “blocks” of buildings, but more like a series of interconnected gears. SMMA uses the concept of “academic adjacencies or connectivity” to describe this design framework, which enhances the flow of students and staff through the building and encourages interaction and collaboration. All new construction options support realization of this vision.
Like the connectivity envisioned in the Educational Program, some Lexington residents believe that there is a “connectivity” that currently exists among the baseball fields, football fields, center track, and all the other athletic and outdoor spaces that make up the Center Recreation complex. Building on the fields cuts this connectivity.
The addition & renovation and phased-in new building in place options are far from perfect solutions. Since construction would occur on the existing site, these options would cause varying degrees of disruption to students. They each require longer construction durations of perhaps 5-8 years, multiple construction phases, and additional modular classrooms to house students during construction. The fields would likely still be used for construction staging areas and for modular classrooms, but could be rebuilt in their current location.
Leading up to its November 12 vote, the SBC must make the critical choice between the “new construction on fields” and “addition & renovation/phased in place” options.
Is There Something “Blooming”?
Each of the options has a catchy name to describe them (e.g., Branch or Weave). There appears to be enthusiasm among the SBC and the consultants for the “Bloom” option (below) which would be constructed on the existing recreational fields but, in its current iteration would allow the reconstruction of the varsity baseball field, the varsity softball field, and a small field that connects them in their current locations. It is not perfect but worthy of continued study.
Source: SMMA
At its last meeting on September 16, the SBC conducted a “straw poll” on new construction options and the updated “Bloom” concept was the winner. This concept preserves more connectivity of the recreation land. The football fields (most likely with lights) would still need to be relocated, probably closer to Waltham Street. Abutters may have issues with this plan.
Community Outreach and Selling the Project to Voters
The SBC is fully engaged in an outreach program to all relevant Lexington stakeholder groups. As of last night, the SBC has conducted over 150 public meetings and forums, including to the Select Board, Permanent Building Committee, Capital Expenditure Committee, Sustainable Lexington Committee, among others. Outreach is accelerating given the MSBA timeline. For residents, there are multiple opportunities to participate and express your thoughts and concerns. The SBC’s website contains a huge amount of information. The FAQs have been recently updated.
Cost of the new LHS
Current cost numbers for the new LHS are high-level estimates, they are not based on a detailed design or firm contractor bids. Data from other schools suggests that the cost of the 461,516 square foot high school, including the Central Office, will be about $630 million. The estimated cost is about $490 million after expected MSBA reimbursement and state and Federal rebates/incentives for sustainability measures. New cost estimates will be coming down the road in October and we’ll do a detailed analysis then.
Some Concluding Questions and Observations
The new LHS is an important, complex, and costly project.
- Room for other options?: Is there another design option that enables the Educational Program, preserves all of the recreation fields in their current locations, has a reasonable construction duration and minimal interruption to students? With decision time approaching, it seems unwise to go back to the drawing board, but the LHS Project Team might be able to explore improving the current options to make them work for more stakeholders.
- Cost: The square footage of the design is now set. New cost estimates are expected in October. Let’s hope the estimators can sharpen their pencils and deliver good news. It may be difficult given Boston-area construction costs. Lexington will try to do its part to reduce cost and schedule duration by applying “value engineering” later in the process.
- Considering the voices of the community and those with different views: The September 18th community meeting provides a great example of the benefits of allowing residents to chime in on the issues. The Permanent Building Committee (PBC) meeting on September 12 provides a good example of independent assessment and testing of the options. At the meeting, the PBC stressed tested the 6 “massing options” prepared by the SBC, prior options considered in the 2015 Master Plan, options that have been submitted by the community, as well as new ideas. The new LHS represents too big of a decision to dismiss alternative views or perspectives.
- Community trade-offs: How does Lexington value “connectivity” within the educational program and “connectivity” within the recreational fields? How should we balance some residents desire to preserve the existing fields with the needs of students and staff during the years of construction? How should Lexington balance advocacy for the students with impact on the rest of taxpayers?
- Affordability: One cannot help but hear the voices at the Community Meetings of residents who may be struggling financially. Raising annual real estate taxes by 10-14% is a big deal for some folks. Lexington has few ways to help out: other states offer significant tax exemptions for groups like senior citizens.
Upcoming columns will include a dive deep into sustainability and resilience considerations, and a close look at new cost estimates when they are released in October.
It’s a lot of $$. Are we sure there isn’t an acceptable $400m option?
The higher the tax rate the more Lex becomes a rich kid’s town. Hard for 30-40 something folks raising families
to afford.
Really about what the central character of the town is….
A rich kid town with those rich people moving IN for their kids schooling and then OUT after graduation. Why are we spending so much on transient residents while ignoring the financial needs of long term Lexingtonians?
Title: Softening Impact on Taxpayers with LHS4all.com Proposed Solution
The MBTA zoning has put our town in a position it has never been before. All of the sudden there is a HUGE opportunity for residential development, and building permit applications are way above the usual application rate. With the Town’s 150 soon-to-be-built subsidized units there are almost 800 units in the process of being permitted (https://www.lexingtonma.gov/932/Current-Projects). We expect that we will not know for sure the impact of the MBTA zoning on the Town for 2-4 years. It is irresponsible to guess at an enrollment number rather than wait and see what capacity LHS will really need.
There is a known solution to dealing with the current overcrowding – an urgent problem. The SBC should design a STAGED solution that their architects recommended in Town’s 2015 Master Plan (https://drive.google.com/file/d/1I5jGAI5tVghUfcYoSCqx3TmVRA2uSf-o/view).
In Stage 1, a new 4-story building is erected to replace the Foreign Language building. The new building can have a new Commons (cafeteria) on the main floor and classrooms and other needed space on the next 3 floors. In 2-4 years when projections for enrollment can be more accurate, Stage 2 can be designed and implemented.
This solution relieves the current overcrowding and can be built as fast or faster than the SBC’s proposed school. This plan allows us to better estimate future space needs before committing to the size of Stage 2 of the project. Building too much or too little space based on insufficient (and currently not obtainable) enrollment data will lead to unnecessary spending. The town cannot afford to waste taxpayer money.
This STAGED solution will require a 2025 DEBT EXCLUSION LESS THAN HALF of the proposed project, leading to an estimated tax increase of $500-$900 for the average property. We will need another debt exclusion for Stage 2, but we expect Lexington to get more state help to deal with a capacity problem the State created with the MBTA zoning mandate.
At the recent community meeting we heard Mabel Amar, an elderly resident, deliver an eloquent plea (time 1:57:53). She explained that if the proposed $1,700-$2,400 debt exclusion passes, after having lived most of her life in Lexington she’ll be forced out of town by her tax bill. She got a loud round of applause. There are many people for whom forever raising Lexington taxes present a real hardship.
The current SBC proposal is optimizing for only one group of Lexingtonians – the LHS students. But there are over ten times as many residents who will be affected by the project through their wallet and reconfiguration of fields. It’s not fair to throw the less well-off Lexingtonians under the bus so for four years our kids avoid all construction noise!
Those of us who can afford the increased taxes have no right to dismiss other’s financial hardships due to raising taxes just because for a few years kids will be going to LHS with a construction near them. The above solution guarantees at 4-6 year deferral of at least half of the amount of projected tax increase. If we stage the project, the 2025 DEBT EXCLUSION CAN BE CUT IN LESS THAN HALF!
I hope the SBC and all of us will give Lexingtonians whose finances are tight more consideration.
Have enjoyed the coverage thus far, but have to be honest: this reads more like public relations for the project than objective reporting. Serious concerns have been raised, and alternative plans suggested, but they have been given short shrift here.
The slides presented at the 9/18/24 informational meeting stated “Today, the [LHS] facility currently holds more than 2,400 students” and showed that the new LHS is currently designed for an enrollment of 2,395 students.
This makes no sense to me, so I asked “Why are you designing a new LHS for 2,395 students since we already have 2,400 high school students and our new MBTA zoning will add housing units in town?” (starting at 1:10:21 on https://us06web.zoom.us/rec/play/PRO7JoD4NeKUXY_ZHf2ziS4qXwUlgimWFKrN8PgTDWXVypAYpEjpgHa4IU0L6WRYd1MKAOTSsDnrYTLy.L9ITn3pdbRQHy_7s?canPlayFromShare=true&from=share_recording_detail&continueMode=true&componentName=rec-play&originRequestUrl=https%3A%2F%2Fus06web.zoom.us%2Frec%2Fshare%2FQWAquGG9OGb8pj08c3YGNZsxWOg7hjBEMH5QQyXJQugNvUJ88uVhUEVOmFc8mCAn.kqaZj6NBwKw9JwjU).
My question was not answered.
https://www.lexingtonma.gov/1496/MBTA-Communities-Zoning lists all the development projects (6 to date) received under the new MBTA Communities zoning adopted at the 2023 Spring Town Meeting (for 227 acres, or 4.5 times more than the 50 acres required of Lexington: see https://www.lexingtonma.gov/DocumentCenter/View/8463/Art-34-village-and-multi-family-slides?bidId=, slides 11 and 14).
Under those 6 projects, Lexington already has almost 800 dwelling units applied for (on a very small portion of the 227 acres) in less than 2 years, far more units than what Town Meeting was told, namely that this new by-right zoning would generate “~400-800 units in 4-10 years”.
Many more new dwelling units will be added across Town to our now 11,000 residential lots, mostly single-family houses, once more of the 227 acres are acquired by developers for MBTA Communities zoning by-right developments. Those developments must yield 15 dwelling units or more per acre, so if all 227 acres are developed just at the minimum density, we will have 3,400 new housing units (15 x 227), a 30% increase of Lexington’s housing stock. That is why designing a new high school for 2,395 students makes no sense.
Accordingly, it seems to me that the new LHS should theoretically be sized closer to 2,400 x 1.30 = 3,100 students, rather than for FEWER students than our current high school enrollment of 2,400 students. But since 3,400 additional housing units won’t happen overnight, the optimal approach is to phase in enlargements and renovations of the current LHS over 5, 10 or 15 years, which can be done by replacing a current 1-story building with say a 4- or 6-story new one to accommodate enrollment growth if and when it occurs.
To learn about an alternative plan that will cut the 2025 debt exclusion in more that half, please check out my opinion article (https://lexobserver.org/2024/09/20/meetings-decisions-and-more-recent-news-about-the-new-high-school-building-project/To%20learn%20about%20an%20alternative%20plan%20that%20will%20cut%20the%202025%20debt%20exclusion%20in%20more%20that%20half,%20please%20check%20out%20my%20opinion%20article%20(link%20to%20it).).
At the Summit meeting on 9/19, Dr. Hackett explained how they arrived at the 2395 student number – it is driven by the MSBA. The original number was much lower but the team was able to successfully negotiate a higher number by using the MBTA rezoning as the rationale. Moreover, the 2395 number represents a 85% occupancy compared to the correct 98% occupancy of the highschool. I came away with the feeling that we will definitely be able to accommodate more students if and when the need arises.
Please note the link above doesn’t work. Here’s the corrected link: https://www.lhs4all.com/about-1-2
Sanjay:
We heard on 9/18/24 that “Today, the [LHS] facility currently holds more than 2,400 students.”
Exact LHS enrollments are at https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1sTOQ3KXKDQxhssBgcnf4dkWOkugZNIc1WWaVJsxcuRI/edit?gid=235917517#gid=235917517. They have been steadily growing in the past several years, since the MSBA set for Lexington a (lower than 2,395) number (I believe because the MSBA saw statewide high school enrollments declining). That number was subsequently raised to 2,395. Fudging occupancy rates, as Julie Hackett tried to do on 9/18/24, does not change the fact that 2,395 is evidently too low.
Given our current LHS enrollment and since Lexington is a pioneer, having adopted in 2023 the “MBTA Communities zoning” which allows by right denser than usual developments for 227 acres across town, 4.5 times more than the 50 acres required of us by the State (https://www.lexingtonma.gov/DocumentCenter/View/8463/Art-34-village-and-multi-family-slides?bidId=, slides 11 and 14), I believe that MSBA, regardless of what its formal procedures are (they do not account for the MBTA zoning, since they predate that new zoning), is beginning to realize that 2,395 is a nonsensical figure for Lexington.
All projects Lexington has already received under MBTA zoning — 6 of them — are on https://www.lexingtonma.gov/1496/MBTA-Communities-Zoning. Adding the Town’s 150 affordable units planned at North & Lowell St, we already have 800 new dwelling units in the pipeline, for just 8.3% of the 227 acres, a far higher number than expected: Town Meeting was told that the MBTA zoning would generate “~400-800 units in 4-10 years” (https://www.lexingtonma.gov/DocumentCenter/View/8463/Art-34-village-and-multi-family-slides?bidId=, slide 14). This makes it even more unreasonable to plan for no increase in enrollments at LHS.
In short, nobody – not the Town, not the MSBA, not Julie Hackett, not I, nor anyone else in the Commonwealth – can predict how many dwelling units and school children the MBTA zoning will “produce” on 8.3% of the allowed acreage until the new units are built and occupied (which will take 1-2 years at least), let alone how the other 91.7% of the allowed acreage will impact LHS enrollments: we need 5 to 10 years to have a robust view of those impacts.
Accordingly, the prudent approach is to go with a phased project: (a) replace a single-story LHS building with a multi-story one to accommodate the current overcrowding; (b) monitor how the hundreds (possibly thousands) of new developments will impact LHS enrollments over the next few years; (c) repeat (a) as necessary. The current designs are expensive (some $650 million) and may produce a new LHS that will turn out to be too small before it is completed if Lexington keeps attracting families with schoolchildren in the hundreds, possibly thousands (we now have about 11,000 residential lots in Town) of new dwellings being developed.
You can email me on patrick.mehr@gmail.com if you have further questions.
Ty to the Lexobserver for reporting on this LHS project and more topics of interest to all Lexingtonians.
Olga, Ty as always for sharing your knowledge and links for people to reference.
I am following along, I have one son at minuteman now and one son at Clarke 7th grade. I grew up here. My parents have lived here since 1977. I hear all sides of the coin. The issue is pressing, we do need to come to a decision quickly yet, thoroughly taking all considerations into account. Like one person said on here this is more than 2,400 students at LHS currently. Which I still cannot understand how this is okay with fire code etc. I went there as a kid and it’s still the same building structure with some modular additions etc. All of these surrounding towns have successfully come up with a solution and have made it to build (Arlington, Belmont) and are currently in the midst of building (ex Waltham).
I have a hard time with all of these meetings. We need to come up with a solution sooner than later. Time is of the essence. I am not a part of the upper echelon of incomes and am proud to say that, my parents have stuck it out with their outrageous taxes so their grandsons my boys could go to the schools.
We all live together.
It’s a beautiful thing, for family to stay together in these times of uncertainty in our political landscape and our world of divisiveness.
I have empathy for the seniors and residents who cannot afford the tax increase one more time. There has to be another way, to get what needs to be done. There are so many intelligent people here in town. I have faith that someone will make a decision and move forward so we can have a high school that will safely house our 2,395 students (approved number) and that our community members with no children or grown children can stay in town without being driven out.
This is an important topic and a controversial one that I hope people can come to an agreement on so the high school can begin to be built! Kids are resilient and I do not think they mind some construction while learning. You can put a white noise machine on or fans to drown out the noise and get started on the ever ending planning project!
I think we need to come together, and have ideas that bring into consideration common sense ideas and start the building. We cannot wait any longer.
I did not go to the last meetings because I have been in the past, and it’s hard to sit through when things move so slowly. I am happy to hear they are finally making a decision in November. Hallelujah:):)
Jess, thnx for acknowledging that there are many households in Lexington that struggle with ever rising taxes. This is why we at LHS4all.com are looking to get a modern building up quickly for under $200M (@ $1,000/sq ft). Unfortunately, the School Building Committee (SBC) is unwilling to produce a design for a STAGED project. They plan to proceed to MSBA with their $600M+ design for the same number of students that are at LHS now. Any of their expansion options will ADD more cost to the project. MSBA confirmed that SBC is allowed to submit a proposal in December, and every 2 months. MSBA said they will likely give us a decision at their next meeting. In our proposal, our 4-story building would immediately solve two most urgent problems: overcrowding AND a new Commons. Our plan will CUT DEBT EXCLUSION IN LESS THAN HALF, making it easier for families like yours and our many seniors to remain in town longer. Because of the new MBTA zoning TM approved, there is a potential for a DRAMATIC increase in enrollments in a much shorter time than TM expected. At this time we cannot predict future enrollment for LHS even in 5 years, let alone later. This is why we are proposing to STAGE the project. In 2-4 years, after most of the 800 (and rising) currently applied for units are occupied we have a much better idea of likely future enrollments. Once we have a reliable predictor of such enrollments we can proceed with a design of Stage 2. I expect that we will also be able to get more money to cope with the avalanche of housing the MBTA zoning mandate generated. Even with some inflation in costs we expect that additional state aid, for which our officials will have a strong argument, will also reduce the cost of the debt exclusion needed for Stage 2. Hope you will check out LHS4all.com for much more information.
I am not sure at 631 millions is the final cost for our shining new high school! We are not building a world class pyramid?
I believe the student body of our LHS is the most important for an excellent public school.
We need an integrated, diverse, different economic class students(the student body that’s from different economic backgrounds, different cultures, teenagers from all corners of the world, single parent, same sex parents, etc and in their fastest growing period of their lives they interact and learn from each other and that’s the most valuable lessons in high school). I believe citizens in town are sincere about the affordable housing and how does the increase in property taxes affect our affordable housing families with students? The senior citizens that had established in Lexington and contributed to the town for decades and in their retirement years they have to move due to higher property taxes? I want to know the “best air quality inside the shining new high school” and how does it affect our teenagers lungs for 5 days a week for about 6-7 hours regular school days but when they open the school doors and come out to breathe the out door air, how does it affect their lungs? What’s the gradient of our teenagers lungs from the best clean air into breathing the out door air and how does it affect their microscopic developing lung tissues? I understand we should not live in a very clean, sterile house, we need dirt and bacteria to build up our human immunity system.
My other questions are:
1. The U.S. census is going down and is there a need to build a shining gigantic new high school? Where are the students?
2. Who’s the adult in the room when the cost of building the shining new high school is increasing by hundreds of millions? Is there a cap? Quoting from Henry David Thoreau from memory, “most people live lives of quiet desperation”
Lexington High School construction beginning in 2027.