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

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The field is now due to open in January 2023. The delays are due to persistent asbestos in the soil, and a lack of places to take the contaminated soil.
 
"Persistent Asbestos" would be an amazing/horrible fantasy league name.
 
RandomWalk said:
The field is now due to open in January 2023. The delays are due to persistent asbestos in the soil, and a lack of places to take the contaminated soil.
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It's not a lack of places, it's a lack of places within the budget. Most of our projects have to ship off such contaminated soil to Ohio, which gets expensive when you consider trucking costs.

I've lived that nightmare before and who knows how far they'll have to dig before they hit "clean" soil. Might be better to cap and contain it and lay new soil over it for the field.
 
I believe they said they are $18 million in the hole on the total project, which is primarily due to the remediation.

I can’t shake the feeling that this is also going to impact the GLX and bike path, since they have roped off the unfinished retaining wall by School St.
 
Again, me being naïve but... this is going to be a artificial turf playing field atop a concrete slab. Why do they need clean soil?
 
kjdonovan said:
Again, me being naïve but... this is going to be a artificial turf playing field atop a concrete slab. Why do they need clean soil?
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All it would take is one illness and one lawsuit from an installer of the turf or from someone who later walked or played on it. Class action suit anyone? I'm from Woburn, where such remediation came too late for the dozens who got sick and died from toxic chemicals in the soil and wells.
 
There are ready comparisons to be made with the other high school projects going on nearby -- Arlington and Belmont -- and in both cases this is a clear winner.

Belmont is let down by subpar materials but is otherwise an interesting design, whereas the Arlington project is downright dreary. I drove by last week (no pics) and it immediately reminded me in the worst sense of the Transportation Building in how unrelieved and unrelenting the expanses of brick were. No bueno.
 
I wonder if there is any correlation between the quality of the building and at least some of the architects living in the city.
 
That's a great looking school. I only wish I could afford to live in Somerville so I could send my daughter there.
 
Man - this project is a real testament to the demographic shift (for the upwardly mobile) Somerville has seen since I was a kid (graduated from Winchester HS in '09). We used to joke about "Slumerville" even as we drove to Davis Square to hang out for lunch and on weekend. Yes, I understand the classist implications and admit I too was susceptible to the douchebaggery that pervaded my HS experience 😂
 
awood91 said:
Man - this project is a real testament to the demographic shift (for the upwardly mobile) Somerville has seen since I was a kid (graduated from Winchester HS in '09). We used to joke about "Slumerville" even as we drove to Davis Square to hang out for lunch and on weekend. Yes, I understand the classist implications and admit I too was susceptible to the douchebaggery that pervaded my HS experience 😂
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Mildly off topic, but Somerville also has seen a big increase in tax revenue, with a pretty good kicker over the last 5 years. If I'm reading right - the new property tax revenue from Somerville has been overwhelmingly commercial growth over the past 5 years, and the property tax income will only increase as Prop 2.5 increases will keep predictable growth. It's easier to buy nice things when you have more money.

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Vagabond said:
Mildly off topic, but Somerville also has seen a big increase in tax revenue, with a pretty good kicker over the last 5 years. If I'm reading right - the new property tax revenue from Somerville has been overwhelmingly commercial growth over the past 5 years, and the property tax income will only increase as Prop 2.5 increases will keep predictable growth. It's easier to buy nice things when you have more money.

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It's interesting to me how Belmont, a wealthy community, builds a cheap-looking new high school, while Somerville. not as wealthy as Belmont, builds a really nice high school.
 
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