Somerville High School Renovation & Expansion | 81 Highland Ave | Somerville

5 stories. Still makes me go "whoa" and I see it every day.
 
I hope the interior finishes are as delightful to the eye as the exterior. After all, students and teachers will barely enjoy the exterior.
 
Life Coach Mike said:
I hope the interior finishes are as delightful to the eye as the exterior. After all, students and teachers will barely enjoy the exterior.
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They're likely going to be the typical/standard SMMA K-12 VE'd material palette, looking at their interior renders. They've been using the same kind of palette for about a decade+ now, to my knowledge.. likely because it's easy to get passed if its been done before and less costly to buy and build for the district, low maintenance costs, etc. They look great and clean new but I can't tell how well they'll hold through the lifecycle of the building. I remain hopeful that the state budget remains robust enough so that these buildings that are being built now can easily be covered in their renovation/repair and maintenance and aesthetic overhauls likely in 30-40 years. I hope the state has learned their lesson that deferred maintenance/no funding leads to bigger problems and bigger price tags later on...
 
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Some news buried in the Mayor's school reopening update:

We are also excited to share that the new Somerville High School building has passed the remaining tests necessary to attain a Certificate of Occupancy by the end of February.
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kinda feels like a missing tooth. I guess I'll get used to it.
 
I really hope they can find the funds to restore the original roofline on the remaining portion of the old high school. The flat roof makes the building look truncated.
 
when the HS (and gilman sq station) is done, it'll really accentuate how city hall hasn't even been minimally repainted in, like, 30 years. that thing is in ROUGH shape.
 
The historic 19th century part of the school will be a fascinating building to watch over the coming years. I expect its use will evolve with the neighborhood. The original high school plans had speculated at using that building as a community center a la the Armory on Highland Ave. Now it will be used for various city administrative offices that are either buried within city hall or located elsewhere in town. However, I do hope the city reconsiders the needs of office space post-COVID and reduces its own administrative footprint to just essential on-site personnel. Central Hill should be a vital nexus of activity throughout the day rather than just "There's city hall, there's a school and there's a library." Not holding my breath.
 
I doubt that sod is going to survive the students this spring.
 
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