Tobin Montessori & Vassal Lane Upper Schools Project

This project will provide new facilities for the Tobin Montessori School, Vassal Lane Upper School, Special Start and Department of Human Services Programs preschool and after school programs. In addition, the project provides an infrastructure opportunity to help mitigate street flooding in the neighborhood with the construction of a 1.5 million gallon underground storm water tank on-site. The project is being designed as a Net Zero Emissions Facility and includes renovation of the open space area around the school.

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The Presentation for the Virtual Community Meeting is Now Available to View

This presentation is also running on the City's television network, Cambridge Community Television- CCTV (https://www.cctvcambridge.org/schedule). To submit questions for the Q&A portion of the meeting, please email kriley@cambridgema.gov

Virtual Community Meeting - Wednesday, July 29th, 5:30-8pm

The City of Cambridge invites you to a virtual public meeting to discuss the Tobin Montessori and Vassal Lane Schools Project on Wednesday, July 29th. There will be a video presentation from 5:30 - 6:00 pm followed by Q&A from 6 - 8 pm.

The presentation will also be posted to the project page on Monday, July 27th so that residents can submit questions in advance and join Wednesday, July 29th meeting at 6pm for the Q&A portion, if they wish. Questions may also be submitted live during the meeting.

The meeting can be accessed through this link: https://cambridgema.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_erWQkPZOTa-xno8g77TWjA

Public access phone numbers:
Dial (for higher quality, dial a number based on your current location):
US: +1 929 436 2866 or +1 301 715 8592 or +1 312 626 6799 or +1 669 900 6833 or +1 253 215 8782 or +1 346 248 7799
Webinar ID: 965 6641 0675

Information will be presented by the City’s architect, Perkins-Eastman, and City officials and will include:

Explaining the significance of the Schematic Design Phase
Addressing the impacts of COVID-19 on the project design and schedule
Highlighting developments in site and building design
Detailing ways to continue engaging the public for feedback and questions as we move through this phase

Entering the Schematic Design Phase allows the team to provide better-informed responses to questions about traffic, open space, cost, and handling of hazardous soils.

This does not indicate this is the final design. Additional community meetings will be held during this process so that we can continue to receive feedback and refine the design.

We encourage the community to continue to provide feedback as we go through the Schematic Design Phase. Please submit comments to kriley@cambridgema.gov or citymanager@cambridgema.gov.

Comments and responses received so far in the process can be found on the project page under the “Documents” tab at www.cambridgema.gov/TobinSchool.

We encourage you to tune in as we value feedback from residents and the school community.

Update on Investigatory Work- Geothermal Test Well Work to Begin 7/21

As part of the investigatory work taking place on site at the Tobin Montessori and Vassal Lane Upper Schools and Callanan playground, crews will be on-site Tuesday, July 21^st to begin work on the Geothermal Test Wells. These geothermal test wells will provide information on cooling and heating capacity savings potential from using this type of system.

These two work sites will each take two weeks to complete, including set-up, installation, testing and restoration. Work will be done on one site at-a-time. Once complete, the area will be fully restored in time for the opening of the 2020/2021 school year.

What to expect during this work:

Work hours are 7AM-5PM
Work zones will be clearly marked
The playground will remain open whenever possible, but may be subject to closure due to safety and noise
Fields will remain open
Areas will be restored at the completion of the work

Information and Assistance:

For questions regarding this work, please contact Kate Riley, Community Relations Manager, 617-349-4870 / kriley@cambridgema.gov. To view more information on this project such as updates, documents, etc., please visit www.CambridgeMA.gov/TobinSchool.

July 7, 2020: Feasibility Study now available to view

A presentation detailing the Feasibility Study for the Tobin Montessori and Vassal Lane Upper School has been below. The full feasibility study can be accessed under the “Documents” tab.

This presentation includes:

A message from the City Manager, Louis DePasquale
A review of the goals of the Feasibility Study
A review of the changes made to the project proposal based on community feedback, including:
- A reduction in the size of the school population
- A reduction in the overall building size
- An increase in the open space and a greater connectivity to the proposed open space
A review of the project design schedule
A review of building and site elements of the Preferred Option- Crossroads
An explanation of the cost estimate
Details about next steps

A community meeting will be held remotely in the next few weeks to give residents an opportunity to learn more about the next step in the process- the Schematic Design Phase. More information about the meeting will be provided once details are finalized.

We look forward to continuing to engage the community as move through the stages of this project. Your feedback is always welcome and can be sent to citymanager@cambridgema.gov or kriley@cambridgema.gov.

Information and Assistance:

Additional Information: Investigatory work taking place in the school and adjacent Callanan Field.

We wanted to follow up on our previous communication to provide additional details about the subsurface investigatory work taking place at the Tobin Montessori and Vassal Lane Upper School and the adjacent Callanan Field beginning Monday, July 6^th.

What is “investigatory work”?

This work involves 6-inch diameter borings into the soil to retrieve subsurface information that will help inform the design of the school. Each RED bullseye and GREEN dot indicated on the map is one location for a soil boring. A crew will work with a drill rig at one location per day. There are also two ORANGE dots on the map. These mark the location of geothermal test wells that will provide information on cooling and heating capacity savings potential from this type of system. Digging will take 4-5 days at these two locations.

Does this work mean that construction is starting at the school?

No, This work does not indicate the start of construction of the new school. The team is just entering the Schematic Design phase of the project and will spend the next 6 months beginning building and site design, choosing structure and mechanical systems and performing several traffic studies. The community will be engaged several times throughout this process, including later this month. More details about this community meeting will be forthcoming.

Will this work be noisy?

Loud noise and vibration are associated with this work; however, it will not be constant throughout the day. This type of work was done last July with minimal disruption to the neighborhood.

Will we still have access to the fields and playgrounds?

Field locations will be done first and restored to safe conditions in order to accommodate baseball play beginning Saturday, July 11^th. For safety, the large playground behind the school will be closed during work hours for 1-2 days while crews work on the test pit location inside the playground. The tot lot will remain open, but it will be loud and visitors should use caution when navigating the area.

Information and Assistance:

Investigatory work taking place in the school and adjacent Callanan Field.

As part of the process to redevelop the Tobin and Vassal Lane Upper Schools, the City’s consultant, CDM Smith will be performing additional investigatory work on-site beginning the week of July 6th. This work is anticipated to last through the summer. Work hours are 7AM-5PM.

This work will include drilling test pits in several locations in the school and on Callahan Playground and will provide the team with information about the building systems and foundations. The test pits in the field will be done first so that access can be restored for use by the community in August and September.

Traffic and street parking will not be impacted, but it will be loud at times.

Test pit locations can be found below, marked with RED bullseyes, and ORANGE and GREEN dots.

For safety, the large playground behind the school will be closed during work hours for 2-3 days while crews work on the test pit location inside the playground. The tot lot will remain open, but it will be loud and visitors should use caution when navigating the area.

Information and Assistance:

The following email was sent on May 19, 2020

Dear Tobin Community,

Since we last gathered as a community on February 12th to discuss the Tobin Montessori and Vassal Lane Upper Schools project, our lives have changed considerably due to the COVID-19 pandemic. We wanted to provide you with an important update regarding the impacts this event has had on the timeline of the project.

Due to unforeseeable impacts caused by the Commonwealth’s COVID-19 shutdown of non-essential services, the relocation of the Tobin school from its current location to the Longfellow School on Broadway and the relocation of the Vassal Lane Upper school to the Kennedy Longfellow on Spring Street have been postponed until the December 2020 school vacation. The opening of the reconstructed school has been changed to January 2025.

While the project team has made good progress on the feasibility study and the evaluation of the preferred option, some aspects of the project have not been able to safely progress amid the Governor’s Stay-at-Home Order.

As a reminder, the community process to date has included the following topics, all of which can be found on the project page:

Geotechnical and environmental information
Brainstorming sessions on several topics including traffic, programming and construction impacts
Presentation of Conceptual Design Options
Programming information
Community feedback responses
Presentation of a Preferred Option
Responses to feedback and comments about the Preferred Option.

Once the preferred option is decided, the project will move to the “Schematic Design Phase,” allowing the team to provide better-informed responses to questions about traffic, open space, cost, and handling of hazardous soils. This does not indicate this is the final design. We are evaluating ways to safely engage the community during this process so that we can continue to receive feedback and refine the design.

We encourage the community to continue to provide feedback as we go through the Schematic Design Phase. Please submit comments to kriley@cambridgema.gov or citymanager@cambridgema.gov.

Community Meeting Notice: Tobin Montessori and Vassal Lane Upper School

The City of Cambridge invites you to a public meeting to discuss the Tobin Montessori and Vassal Lane Schools Project on Wednesday, February 12th, 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. at the Tobin School Auditorium.

This will be the fifth community meeting to discuss the project. Previous meetings included geotechnical and environmental discussions, brainstorming sessions, presentation of conceptual design options, programming information and community feedback response.

At this meeting, the City’s architect, Perkins-Eastman, and City officials will be:

Responding to the comments received since the last community meeting on 1/16
Presenting a preferred option
Answering questions and listening to feedback and comments in order to refine the preferred option and location

Selecting a preferred option as the project moves into the “Schematic Design Phase”, allows the team to provide better-informed responses to questions about traffic, open space, cost, and handling of hazardous soils. This does not indicate this is the final design. Additional community meetings will be held during this process so that we can continue to receive feedback and refine the design. We encourage the community to continue to provide feedback as we go through the Schematic Design Phase. Please submit comments to kriley@cambridgema.gov or citymanager@cambridgema.gov .

Comments and responses received so far in the process can be found on the project page under the “Documents” tab – www.cambridgema.gov/TobinSchool .

We encourage you to attend as we value feedback from residents and the school community.

Comments and responses received 11/13/2019-1/16/2020 have been posted to the "Documents" tab of this page.

Community Meeting Notice: Tobin Montessori and Vassal Lane Upper School

The City of Cambridge invites you to a public meeting to discuss the Tobin Montessori and Vassal Lane Schools Project on Thursday, January 16th, 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. at the Tobin School Auditorium - 197 Vassal Lane.

This will be the fourth community meeting to discuss the reconstruction of the Tobin Montessori and Vassal Lane Upper School. Previous meetings included geotechnical and environmental discussions, brainstorming sessions and presentation of conceptual design options.

At this meeting, the City’s architect, Perkins-Eastman, and City officials will be:

Reviewing the comments received
Discussing the programming needs of the school community
Discussing the traffic management plans and reviewing traffic data
Presenting design revisions based on the comments received
Reviewing the design schedule and next steps

Community members are invited to continue to submit comments as part of the community process until January 3^rd. Comments can be submitted to kriley@cambridgema.gov or citymanager@cambridgema.gov. Community member will also have an opportunity at the meeting to ask questions, provide feedback and share ideas. We encourage you to attend as we value feedback from residents and the school community.

Information and Assistance

To receive future updates via email regarding this project, please contact Kate Riley at kriley@cambridgema.gov / 617-349-4870. To view more information on this project such as updates, documents, and more, please visit www.cambridgema.gov/TobinSchool.

Public comment period extended to Friday, January 3rd.

Please send all comments to kriley@cambridgema.gov. Comments will be submitted to the project team and posted to the site. Responses will be updated as they become available.

Presentation from the 12/2 Round Table Discussion has been added to the "Documents" tab

Public Comments Added

Public comments received both at the 11/13 meeting and via email after the meeting have been posted to the site. Under the "Documents" tab, you will find the comments compiled into categories and the responses that have been given so far. PLEASE NOTE: not all comments have a response. This is a living document that will be update as we receive comments from the appropriate entity.

A new tab has been created call "Public Comments" that will contain all of the emails that we've received from the public regarding the project.

The following email was sent on Thursday, November 14th.

Thank you to all who attended the meeting last night. It was great to see such a large turnout from the school community and the neighborhood. We received a tremendous amount of helpful feedback from the various breakout groups that will help inform the design of the project and the decision-making process.

We are committed to providing additional opportunities, both formal and informal, to offer feedback and ask questions with both the school community and the public. We are planning to schedule an additional community meeting in December or January to further review the three design options, along with the feedback we have received.

Details about these opportunities will be forthcoming once they have been scheduled.We hope you can attend to continue the discussion of Tobin Montessori and Vassal Lane Upper School Reconstruction.

In the meantime, the documents presented at the meeting are available on the project page under the “Documents” tab. Once all of the comments have been compiled, they will be available for review on the project page.

Please send your comments, questions or feedback to Kate Riley – kriley@cambridgema.gov who will ensure they are submitted as part of the community process. The public comment period will be open until December 15.

Community Meeting Notice: Tobin Montessori and Vassal Lane Upper Schools

The City of Cambridge invites you to a public meeting to discuss the Tobin Montessori and Vassal Lane Schools Project on Wednesday, November 13^th, 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. at the Tobin School Auditorium. Childcare will be provided.

The City’s architect, Perkins-Eastman, and City officials will be presenting the community with three conceptual design options for the Tobin Montessori and Vassal Lane Schools.

Community members will have an opportunity to ask questions, provide feedback and share ideas about these design options. We encourage you to attend as we value feedback from residents and the school community.

Information and Assistance:

To receive future updates via email regarding this project, please contact Kate Riley at kriley@cambridgema.gov / 617-349-4870.

July 9, 2019

As part of the process to redevelop the Tobin and Vassal Lane Upper Schools, the City’s consultant, CDM Smith will be performing additional investigatory work on-site beginning the week of July 22^nd. This work is anticipated to last for up to 10 days. Work hours are 7AM-5PM.

This work will include drilling test pits in three locations at the back of the school and on Callahan Playground as part of the feasibility study (see image below). No decisions have been made about the location of the school, but these subsurface investigations will aid the architects, Perkins Eastman, as they develop design options for the school. Each test pit is expected to take 2-3 days.

Traffic and street parking will not be impacted, but it will be loud at times.

For safety, the large playground behind the school will be closed during work hours for 2-3 days while crews work on the test pit location at the entrance to the playground. The tot lot will remain open, but it will be loud and visitors should use caution when navigating the area.

Coordination with the Department of Human Services and the Parks Department has ensured that there will be no interruption to playground use for camps and scheduled field use.

Information and Assistance:

May 30, 2019

All of the feedback received from the April 30th meeting has been posted under the “Documents” tab of this project page.

The documents are:

Community Feedback Responses_04302019: this document is a summary of all of the questions and feedback that was given during the meeting categorized by topic. The questions and comments are listed in black text and the responses from the team are listed in red text.
Pictures of Feedback Boards: at the meeting, breakouts were formed by topic and questions and comments were gathered. These are the pictures of the boards for each breakout group showing each individual piece of feedback given.
Parks Playgrounds Landscape and Storm Water Feedback Board: an aerial image of the site that was marked up by the Parks, Playgrounds, Landscape and Storm Water breakout group.
NEW TOBIN LETTER: written feedback submitted on 5/1 by a member of the community.

Thank you to all who attended and provided thoughtful feedback. This is an important part of the feasibility work that is taking place now in advance of the design stage. We look forward to reconvening in the fall to present a minimum of three design options to the community.

The presentation from the April 30th Community Meeting can now be found under the "Documents" tab.

Information for Neighbors & Community Members

April 16, 2019: Notice: Tobin Montessori and Vassal Lane Upper School - Community Meeting

The City of Cambridge invites you to a public meeting to discuss the Tobin Montessori and Vassal Lane Schools Project on Tuesday, April 30th from 6:30PM-8PM at the Tobin School Cafeteria.

This meeting will be an opportunity for residents to meet the design team from Perkins Eastman and to learn about the investigatory work they’ve done so far. In addition, residents will have the opportunity to break into small groups to brainstorm and provide feedback.

We encourage you to attend, to learn more about the project, ask questions and provide feedback to the City as we continue the process of redesigning the Tobin Montessori and Vassal Lane Schools. We look forward to working with residents and the school community throughout the project.

Information and Assistance

February 28, 2019

On Tuesday, February 26th, the City Council and School Committee held a round table/working meeting to discuss plans for the Tobin/VLUS school design and construction process. To view that meeting, please click here.

January 29, 2019

On Tuesday, February 26th at 5:30PM there will be a Roundtable/Working Meeting between the City Council and the School Committee for the purpose of discussing plans for the Tobin Montessori and Vassal Lane Schools design and construction process. This meeting will be televised. Please see "Documents" tab for more information.

Information for Neighbors & Community Members

January 25, 2019: Notice: Tobin Montessori and Vassal Lane Upper School - Community Meeting

The City of Cambridge invites you to the first public meeting to discuss the Tobin Montessori and Vassal Lane Schools Project on Wednesday, February 6th from 6:30PM-8PM at the Tobin School Auditorium.

This initial meeting will be an opportunity for residents and the school community to learn more about the site’s history, the current subsurface geotechnical and environmental conditions and the implication of these factors on design, soil remediation and reconstruction. The City’s Licensed Site Professional (LSP) and geotechnical consultant, CDM/Smith, will present findings from initial exploratory efforts that have taken place over the past 18 months and discuss how this information relates to the design strategies and construction process.

At this meeting the City will also be introducing the selected architect for the project, Perkins Eastman, who also was the designer of the Dr. Martin Luther King Lower School and Putnam Avenue Upper School.

We encourage you to attend, to learn more about the project, ask questions and provide feedback to the City as we begin the process associated with the reconstruction of the Tobin Montessori and Vassal Lane Schools. We look forward to working with residents and the school community throughout the project.

December 4, 2018

The Selection Committee has chosen Perkins Eastman architect firm for the design of the Tobin School. They were the highest ranked firm of the five firms interviewed and will now prepare a Feasibility Study proposal fee for the project. Perkins Eastman was the architect firm for the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Putnam Ave Upper Schools.

August 23, 2018

Over the past several months, the City has been conducting a geotechnical and environmental investigation at 197 Vassal Lane in preparation of the construction of the Tobin Montessori and Vassal Lane Upper Schools, and the Department of Human Services Programs.

Since the location of both the existing school and field was a former clay pit that was used as a municipal dump site, the school and field are regulated under the Massachusetts Contingency Plan (MCP). There is a Permanent Solution on the property with an Activity & Use Limitation (AUL) supporting its current use as a school and playground.

We were asked by the School Department to specifically consider whether it is feasible (or advisable) for the students to stay in the existing school during construction (as a “no-swing” space alternative). Our environmental consultants, CDM Smith, investigated this request and have provided a recommendation based on their results.

The conclusion of the analysis is a recommendation that students be relocated to a swing space so that the building is unoccupied during construction. This is based first and foremost on safety and public health concerns for students remaining within the site limits where remediation activities are being conducted associated with the former dump site. There are also additional impacts that may make it difficult for students to remain in the existing building. These are outlined in the summarizing memorandum under the "Documents" tab.

We are currently finalizing the complete report on the geotechnical and environmental investigation. When the report is complete, we will be scheduling a public meeting.

The next steps for the complex are to select a design team for the project and to conduct a feasibility study, understanding program needs, evolving siting options, and estimated costs in order to make a recommendation on the preferred alternative for the school. In the feasibility study, we expect to evaluate renovations to the existing facility or a portion thereof, or demolish and reconstruct on the existing location or in the field area. The designer selection process will begin in September.

July 11, 2017

As part of the process to redevelop the Tobin and Vassal Lane Upper Schools, a Concept Plan of a school layout shall be performed to determine the siting options to construct a new school facility. No decisions have been made on the location of the school, however geotechnical and environmental services are required to evaluate all siting options. These services will provide data for the future designer (architect) to evaluate all site options during a forthcoming Feasibility Study.

Generally, data will be collected by drilling test borings at key locations on the site, and shall include installation of groundwater monitoring wells to characterize and evaluate impacted groundwater and establish seasonal water elevation fluctuations. Environmental soil and groundwater analytical samples will be collected to evaluate the challenges of removal and/or capping of waste materials, and to evaluate how to remediate groundwater issues related to vapor intrusion during active construction and dewatering activities.

It is anticipated that this work will be completed by mid-year 2018.

In the coming weeks, you will begin to see activity in and around the Callanan Field area to perform environmental and site assessments. We expect to have these results later this summer and plan to schedule a community meeting in the fall to discuss the findings, next steps for the project, and solicit feedback from stakeholders.

While no decisions about the future Tobin and Vassal Lane Upper Schools project, location, design, etc. have been made at this time, we encourage stakeholders to begin their involvement in the planning process by visiting the project website at www.CambridgeMA.gov/TobinSchool and signing up for our email distribution list for announcements and updates under the “Contact” tab on the project page.

Information and Assistance:
To receive future updates via email regarding this project, please contact Dan Riviello at driviello@cambridgema.gov or 617.349.4825. To view more information on this project such as updates, documents, etc., please visit www.CambridgeMA.gov/TobinSchool.

The Cambridge Public Schools’ Innovation Agenda will result in the creation new upper school campuses serving students in grades 6 to 8. The Tobin and Vassal Lane Upper Schools, located at 197 Vassal Lane, Cambridge, will be the third school to be redesigned.

The timeline below has been updated as of July 1, 2020

July 2020: The feasibility study has been completed (see Documents tab for full study and associated document). Initial investigatory work begins.

Summer 2020-Fall 2020: Schematic Design Phase

Fall 2020-Spring 2021: Design Development and site investigations

December 2020: Students move out to swing spaces

Spring 2021-December 2024: Construction

January 2025: Anticipated school opening

The Cambridge Public Schools’ Innovation Agenda will result in the creation of four new upper school campuses serving students in grades 6 to 8. The Tobin and Vassal Lane Upper Schools, located at 197 Vassal Lane, Cambridge, will be the third school to be redesigned.

07282020_Jan Devereux

07292020_Jay Yesselman

07292020_Lynne Carvalho Adamian

07292020_Joy Hackel

07292020_Jodie Siegel

07292020_Jodie Siegel_2

07292020_Dianne Cormier

07292020_Phyllis Simpkins

05202020_Peter Sturges

04062020_Jan Devereux

03312020_Jan Devereux

02282020_Jan Devereux