MSBA Approves $118 Million Grant For Waltham High School

WALTHAM, MA — The Massachusetts School Building Authority voted Thursday to green light a $118,373,814 grant for a new high school at the former home of the Stigmatine Fathers and Brothers religious order.

"I am very happy for the children and tax payers of Waltham," Mayor Jeannette McCarthy told Patch.

This announcement was long in coming after years of back and forth with the former landowners. Just last month, the City Council approved spending an additional $11 million to the $18 million already spent to take the property by eminent domain, raising the total cost of the property to $29 million.

"It is a huge step forward in the process," Interim Superintendent of Waltham Schools George Frost told Patch."There are more steps to take but this approval is critical to move the project forward."

The new high school is expected to serve 1,830 students and cost $374,567,387, making it one of the most expensive high schools in Massachusetts to date.

From the MSBA:

For years, the superintendent's office has been beating the drum about a need for an upgrade to the high school in order to accommodate increased enrollment and upgrade from deteriorating building conditions.

The current high school building is 449,700 square feet and was built in 1968, with additions made in 1998 and 2002. The state of the high school falls below standards, and raises the prospect that the city could lose accreditation of its high school over the next few years, unless significant progress is made on the building.

After back and forth between the school district and the city council about a site, the MSBA, which helps pay for school building projects, imposed a timeline for the city if it wanted to get money from the state to help pay for any of it.

The City Council and the School Committee voted to go with the School Department's preferred location at the Stigmatine property, in large part because of the size of the property - 43 acres. At one point the owners put the property on the market, according to court documents. The city-owned Fernald property was a strong contender but fell out as an option after officials realized environmental issues were bigger than originally thought.

When it became clear that the religious order that owned the Stigmatine property was not interested in selling it to the city, a number of city council members voted against taking the property. But, with the deadline set last year, the city council changed course and voted to take the site by eminent domain and paid the Stigmatine Fathers $18 million.

In February, the Massachusetts School Building Authority gave the green light to Waltham to begin the Schematic Design phase of the $381 million high school building project across the street at the Stigmatine property. This summer the district trimmed the cost to $374.6 million.
MSBA full board would not vote on final funds, Waltham and the Stigmatines worked out their differences.

In September, the Waltham City Council authorized the $375 million for the school, the most expensive high school project in the state. Latest estimates put doors open September 2024.

After the two sides spent hours in mediation, they came up with a deal, Waltham would pay more, and Stigmatines would have until end of April to remove personal property, including statutes and tabernacles.

There's more to read on this:

• Waltham Council Approves $11M More For Stigmatine Property (Jan 2020)
• Waltham High School Project: Stigmatines, City Agree To Mediation (Oct. 2019)
• Waltham City Council Authorizes $375 Million For New High ...(Sept. 2019)

• Waltham High School Project Before City Council Again (September 2019)
• Waltham High School Project Edges Forward - (August 2019)
• Stigmatines Must Move By June 30 For Waltham High School ... (June 2019)
• Crews Begin To Evaluate Waltham High School Project Site (April 2019)
• Stigmatines To Waltham: No Surveyors On Our Property (Aug. 2018)
• Residents Camp Out At Waltham City Hall For Latest On High School ( June 2018)
• Waltham High School At Stigmatine?: Possibility Edges Forward(May 2018)
• Waltham Residents Rally At City Hall With Message About Stigmatine (Feb. 28, 2018)
• Waltham Mayor Lays Out Case For Stigmatine (Sept. 28, 2017)
• City Council Denies Eminent Domain Taking of Stigmatine (May 23, 2017)
• Stigmatine Official: 'Our Property Is Not For Sale' (May 18, 2017)
• Mayor McCarthy: Why I Didn't Speak At The Stigmatine Meeting(May 17, 2017)
• Waltham City Council Committee Rejects Eminent Domain (May 15, 2017)
• Waltham Mayor Requests Eminent Domain of Stigmatine (Feb. 2017)
• Community Meetings On New High School At Stigmatines Begin
• State Board Gives Green Light To Waltham High School Next

Patch reporter Jenna Fisher can be reached at Jenna.Fisher@patch.com or by calling 617-942-0474. Follow her on Twitter and Instagram (@ReporterJenna).