Hopkinton’s Elementary School Building Committee (ESBC) has set the date for their next community workshop, “Understanding Site Options,” to be held January 24th from 9:00 a.m. to 10:30 a.m., at the Hopkinton Middle School library. This is the second of three workshops designed to engage the public in the Center School Feasibility Study, a project to address the constraints at Center School focused on meeting the needs of Hopkinton’s pre-K through 1st grade educational program. “We’ve reached a very exciting point in the timeline of this project,” said ESBC Clerk Rob Nickerson. “We’re now at the point of deciding a location, and reviewing site testfit depictions with the community to help us make a decision the community will support.” Site alternatives being evaluated include the following locations, with preliminary testfit depictions available for public review and comment:
● Center School: Options including renovation, addition, and new construction, and depicted with and without abutting privately owned property at 25 Ash Street.
● Elmwood School: Options include construction of a new Pre K/1st grade building, next to the existing Elmwood School (which would continue to serve 2nd and 3rd grade).
● Irvine Property: Options include North and South specific construction on 20+ acres located on Hayden Rowe, just South of Hopkinton Parks and Recreation land at EMC Park.
● Todaro Property: 20+ acres, with access from 147 Hayden Rowe, abutting the Irvine property to the North, adjacent to Water Fresh Farm and abutting 5 acres of town owned property on the South.
“The project is now moving very quickly,” said Joe Markey, ESBC Chairman. “We expect to decide a location for the Center School solution within a month or so of the January 24th workshop; that’s why the community’s participation in the January 24th workshop is so critical. Now is the chance to weigh in on alternatives. After a location decision is made, all subsequent site and design work will be at the one chosen location, with a design and construction proposal coming to Town Meeting by Fall 2015.” Residents are encouraged to attend the January 24th workshop at the Hopkinton Middle School Library from 9:00 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. Residents can also visit the Hopkinton Public Library throughout January, where posters of the site testfit depictions are on exhibit. The site testfit depictions can also be viewed at http://www.HopkintonSchoolProject.com.