News
The Eagle Tribune
New preschool on track for June
Architect, entrepreneur seek to spark a 'green' revolution in classroom design
By Crystal Bozek
April 30, 2009 - North Andover - NORTH ANDOVER - Anyone glancing at the construction site by the Atkinson School while driving down Route 125 might be scratching their head a little.
Officials say they expect to have a new preschool built there and even ready for parents to tour by mid-June. But while there are some backhoes and trucks on the site moving dirt, there are none of the usual signs of a building in progress.
That's because the town's new preschool - a 12,000-square-foot modular - is being built more than 400 miles away in a Pennsylvania factory in an assembly line fashion.
The one-story, 10-room building is being put together in 26 large pieces, which will be trucked here in May.
The pieces will be lifted by crane and rested on a foundation before they are fastened together. The process drastically cuts down on construction time and cost.
"Soon we'll have a building," said Bill Kelly, chairman of the building committee. "It's a simple structure but I'm really excited about it."
The building will cost the town $4 million and is expected to relieve overcrowding at the elementary schools. Voters approved paying for the preschool at last year's Town Meeting.
Kelly said he cannot wait for people to get a look at the building, since people too often have misconceptions about modulars, remembering the cheaply made ones of the past that looked like trailers.
"This is a 50-year building," Kelly said. "When this gets out there, I think other districts will be looking at this model."
The project is on time and under budget so far.
Meanwhile, School Committee Vice-chairman Chris Allen is heading a subcommittee to name the preschool building.
She has already created a policy, which states that school buildings and facilities will be named only for people who have actively contributed to the public schools either as members of the school staff, or members of school-orientated committees over a period of more than 20 years.
Allen said every effort would be made to name buildings after people who are still alive to accept the honor. But posthumous dedications are not being ruled out.
They might also stick with the plainer North Andover Early Childhood Center title. The committee will take written recommendations from school staff and the community.
"We'd like to have a decision made by the time the building is open, when there is an opening ceremony," Allen said.
194 Ayer Road, Littleton, Massachusetts 01460 | © 2010 Triumph, Inc.
