Recapping the Estabrook School Building Project Timeline

hopped on the fast track to a rebuild in the summer of 2010, when .

That fall, after months of remediation work couldn’t solve the PCB problem, the to the Massachusetts School Building Authority seeking funding for a new Estabrook.

The project moved into the , progressed through the feasibility study and schematic design phases and eventually earned approval last week to advance to the project scope and budget phase.

About this time last year, to access to the school property. However, just before the annual meeting dissolved, a motion to reconsider and lively debate resulted in an . This led to the formation of the Estabrook School Access Ad Hoc Task Force (ETF).

In November 2011, the School Committee unanimously agreed to move forward with an ETF-backed plan for .

A vision of the project emerged the following month as the School Committee voted in December to support a three-story schematic design with a north-south orientation and green design elements.  

In January of this year, the Estabrook project earned approval at a with an unknown price tag in the area of $30 million to $42.8 million.

The ETF delivered its report in February, concluding the current driveway on Grove Street should remain the primary access to the school, with Robinson Road remaining a secondary access for limited use. The task force report also calls for widening Robinson Road, eliminating car queuing during drop-off and pickup times and other improvements in the area, including installing sidewalks leading to the school from Turning Mill Road.

Last Wednesday, March 28, the MSBA announced approval of a new Estabrook School in a press release that identified the total project budget at $40,792,248, with an MSBA Estimated Maximum Total Facilities Grant of $12,250,739.

And finally on Monday, April 2, a special Town Meeting .