A rendering photo of the new Longmeadow middle school.
Photo credit: Longmeadow Public Schools
LONGMEADOW — Superintendent Martin O’Shea presented the current design schematics for the new Longmeadow Middle School to the School Committee in its meeting on Dec. 16, detailing the athletic fields, interior flooring, gymnasium and the auditorium.
O’Shea said design meetings with the town and school staff are “well underway” on the building project, which will combine the student bodies and staff of Glenbrook Middle School and Williams Middle School into one building.
The project began with applications to the Massachusetts School Building Authority in 2007 after deeming the two buildings outdated for modern education. In 2022, after years of being backlogged by other projects, Glenbrook was invited into the MSBA’s program. In August 2024, the Longmeadow Middle School Building Committee went forward with the schematic designs for one building on the site at 410 Williams St.
Final designs, size and scope are ultimately the purview of the building committee, but O’Shea said they have a “committee that doesn’t want to move faster than the input from town officials, Police and Fire departments, parks and recreation and the DPW.”
The athletic field will be synthetic turf, accommodating football, field hockey, soccer and lacrosse. The field will be fully lit and environmentally sound, with lighting focused on the field to prevent excessive light pollution. Consultation for benches, netting and a storage shed are still ongoing.
Town officials and the building committee said an exterior storage shed is important to the project but no official decision has been made. It would be used to store athletic equipment, ground maintenance equipment and gasoline powered maintenance equipment. A rough budget for the shed is $100,000, but that will be updated during the design development cost estimate process.
Work with the design team is being done to finalize interior and exterior color finishes. O’Shea said it needs additional conversation, but warm coloring is preferred over bright coloring. He added that interior flooring has had “considerable review and attention.” Flooring along the main spine is expected to be terrazzo with linoleum in the main academic wings. Certain classrooms will be floored with carpeting, and science classrooms will have both polished concrete and rubber flooring.
O’Shea said he is “really excited about the auditorium.” It will be a two-tiered auditorium featuring a wood stage. Chair backings are currently designed to be wooden, but O’Shea said the design team is being encouraged to use materials that will “stand up to the test of 600 middle schoolers.” It will be fully accessible and “acoustically advantageous for performing students.”
The gymnasium will be a full-sized high school competitive court with a wooden court. It features retractable hoops for a community multi-purpose space. O’Shea said the design team is still working on the finishes around the gymnasium.
A photovoltaic design proposal was submitted by LN Engineering, the engineers working on mechanical, plumbing and fire protection, to ensure the building is photovoltaic ready for a solar array. Photovoltaic devices convert sunlight into electricity using semiconducting materials.
With design meetings underway, construction is slated to begin in July 2026 with a fall 2028 move-in.
