Schematic design phase begins for Barry school project

Anna E. Barry School in Chicopee.
Republican file photo

CHICOPEE — The Anna E. Barry Elementary School project will move forward now that it has been recently approved by the Massachusetts School Building Authority to enter the schematic design phase.

The decision was announced by Caolo and Bieniek Architects Principal and Project Architect Bert Gardner during the March 18 School Committee meeting.

Chicopee has been working in partnership with MSBA since 2022 on develiping a plan to either renovate the existing building or build a new elementary school. Through the MSBA, the city would be partially reimbursed for the project.

On Feb. 25, MSBA officially moved the project into this next phase, where MSBA and the district will look at possible options to replace the existing school.

Gardner explained that the schematic design phase will allow MSBA to develop a project scope and budget agreement that will eventually go in front of the City Council for approval.

“In this phase, we develop our robust schematic design submission,” Gardner stated. “The intent of this submission is to really define what the project scope is and to put a cost to it, so we have a cost estimator and the owner’s project manager who represents the project … they have an independent cost estimator and the [group] of them will get our documents, they’ll estimate it, and then we’ll reconcile those to make sure that we’ve got an accurate estimate for what the project’s going to cost.”

The proposed project would replace the existing Anna E. Barry Elementary School with a new two-story building, serving students in kindergarten through grade 5, plus pre-kindergarten, on an alternative site adjacent to the Szetela Early Childhood Center.

Based on the preliminary design schematic report, the estimated construction cost was approximately $99.4 million, and the estimated total project cost is about $124.3 million. Gardner said he recommends people focus on the total project cost because it includes the construction, design fees, testing, furniture and technology package. He added that he and his team are working with the School Department to reduce the total cost by looking at the overall program and seeing if they can identify ways to shrink the school without impacting the education.

For the proposed site at Szetela, Gardner said they are pursuing eminent domain to get a school access drive into the property without impacting any of the residential neighborhoods on either side of the school.

The site will include a new entrance to the school campus, mitigate school traffic in residential neighborhoods and have a one-way gated ring road that will support full emergency vehicle access.

Gardner talked more about the eminent domain benefits, explaining, “In my mind, one of the big benefits is that right now, Macek Drive has a lot of school traffic and backup on it, and this will solve that problem, and we won’t be burdening any of the other side streets with traffic for the school, either.”

The proposed school is positioned in an open field west of the existing Szetela School. The parking lot will separate the proposed building from the existing school.

The classroom wings will be organized along an east-west axis to maximize passive solar benefits. The central location also allows landscape buffers between school grounds and abutting neighborhoods.

Szetela will continue to operate while construction takes place. Gardner stated, “Safety is obviously going to be a paramount priority for the project.”

Gardner said the general shape of the building and site plan “is constantly being massaged” with no major changes, but his team is constantly adjusting where necessary. He also said that the district will make sure the new school has a proper HVAC system.

The project is also focusing on pedestrian safety, according to Gardner. New sidewalks between Edgewood Avenue and Simonich Street to the north and Sunflower Avenue to the south are proposed. There will also be new high-visibility crosswalks at the school entrance and a pedestrian connection to the Daniel Drive neighborhood.

The proposal also looks at staff traffic, bus traffic and parent traffic with separate entrances for pre-K and K-5 students. The project calls for separate playgrounds for pre-K and kindergarten and grades 1-5, universal design for inclusion of all students; quiet, less active outdoor spaces; outdoor classrooms, a youth baseball field and a multi-use field.

The schematic design submission is due on June 25. Based on the timeline, the construction and closeout are set to take place between December 2027 and July 2030.

Gardner said he and his team are anticipating the construction to take 20 months and the new school to be open to students by fall 2030.