LINCOLN-ELIOT SCHOOL
AND
NEWTON EARLY CHILDHOOD PROGRAM PROJECT
UPDATED August 23, 2022
Welcome
Introduction
The Lincoln-Eliot Elementary School / NECP Project is a major priority for the City under its school improvement program and as identified in the City’s Capital Improvement Plan. This combined project has evolved into two distinct projects, as described below.
The Newton Early Childhood Program (NECP)
The NECP is currently housed at 150 Jackson Road (the former Aquinas College). The program was relocated to 150 Jackson Road in 2016 due to space constraints at its former locations at the Lincoln-Eliot School and the Education Center. Currently, the program has approximately 200 students and utilizes 13 classrooms. The program also serves 100 or more students on a part-time basis for services including speech therapy, occupational therapy and physical therapy. To keep pace with the consistent long-term trend of increased need for special education services, a feasibility study was performed in 2019 to investigate the early childhood program and its space needs. Based on the conclusions of the study, a plan was developed to re-purpose the vacant school facility at 687 Watertown Street (the previous Horace Mann School) into the new home for the Newton Early Childhood Program. The project includes a total of 17 classrooms, expanded individual and small group spaces, dedicated therapy spaces, as well as flexible spaces to be able to support community needs.
In 2019, the NECP Project at 687 Watertown Street received City Council Site Plan Approval (through the 5-58 Ordinance process) and authorization to continue work to prepare construction bid documents. In spring 2020, construction bid documents were issued for the NECP at 687 Watertown Street Project, but due to COVID-19 the bid and construction was put on hold. The city re-started the NECP project a year later and began construction in Summer of 2021. Construction has been progressing smoothly and is on-track for completion by the end of 2022. The new NECP will be ready to welcome students to its newly renovated location starting in January 2023.
Lincoln-Eliot Elementary School
The current Lincoln-Eliot Elementary School, at 191 Pearl Street, was originally built in 1939 and had additions constructed in 1965 and 1974. The three-level building is approximately 51,074 GSF in size and sits on a one acre site that is adjacent to Boyd Park. The Lincoln-Eliot School received a building condition rating of 3 (scale: 1 best condition – 4 worst condition) on the MSBA’s 2016 Facility Needs Survey. Similarly, the “Newton Schools Long-Range Facilities Master Plan”, updated in November 2011, ranked the Lincoln-Eliot School 3.1 for facility condition and 4 for educational space needs (scale of 1 best condition - 4 worst condition). Due to the close proximity and size of the site, the City and the School district identified 150 Jackson Road as the new location of the Lincoln-Eliot School.
A feasibility study commenced in 2019 but was put on hold in 2020 due to COVID-19. The City restarted the Lincoln-Eliot School project a year later, with the goal of beginning construction shortly after the NECP moves out of 150 Jackson Road and into their new home at 687 Watertown Street.
Throughout the Schematic Design phase, the project team met with the school community, numerous committees and community groups to ensure all stakeholders were engaged, informed and heard as the project progressed through design. In July 2022, the City Council voted unanimously to grant site plan approval for the new Lincoln-Eliot School Schematic Design Plans. As the project progresses through Design Development, the project team is remaining vigilant to provide the best possible project to the School and the Community. Based on the current timeline, construction is expected to begin in Summer 2023 with construction anticipated to be complete in Summer 2025.