Framingham Elementary School Building Project

SCHOOL BUILDING COMMITTEE (SBC)

Noval Alexander
City Councilor, District 5

Erin Asbury
Community Member

Jessica Barnhill
School Committee Chair, District 8

Matteo Batista
Community Member

Tracey Bryant
City Council Vice Chair, District 9

Rachel Evans
Community Member

Adam Freudberg
School Committee Member, District 4

Brittney Karpierz
School Committee Appointee

George King
Chair, City Council Chair

Brent Lewis
School Committee Member, District 2

David Panich
Community Member

Shreya Shah
Community Member

Brian Turbitt
City of Framingham, CFO

Scott Wadland
Community Member

VERTEX - OWNERS PROJECT MANAGER (OPM)

Chris Eberly - Project Executive
Anissa Ellis - Project Manager
Meredith Borden - Assistant Project Manager

TAPPE - DESIGNER
Chris Blessen - Principal-in-Charge
Michaela Goodrich - Project Manager

MASSACHUSETTS SCHOOL BUILDING AUTHORITY (MSBA)

The Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA) core grant program is a post-paid grant program with a multiple defined processes defined by MSBA as Modules. The City completed the first step with the submission of the Statement of Interest (SOI), and funding of the feasibility study and schematic design, which concluded with execution of the feasibility study agreement with the MSBA in February 2025.

The City is currently in the Funding Phase of the MSBA program which they refer to as the Feasibility Study and Schematic Design Modules. At the conclusion of the Schematic Design module a total project budget will be established that accounts for all project costs, and the maximum reimbursement the City can expect. Should the City vote to fund the project in September 2027, the team would move on to detailed design and construction. The earliest expected opening of the new school would be Fall of 2030, although that could change based upon the scheme and procurement method chosen.

As part of the project, the Design Team and Framingham Public Schools held visioning sessions for the School District as well as the community. The goal of these meetings was to develop the Education Plan. This document serves as a guide for the Design and the MSBA for how Framingham educates a Pk/K-5 student in 2026 and beyond. The building’s design originates from these documents. This Educational Plan was presented to the School Committee in May/June 2026 and accepted.

Click here to read about the Educational Plan

Click here to watch the video and click here to view the slides from the School Committee Presentation

Once the Team is formed in the funding phase, the project moves though three main parts:

• Preliminary Design Program (PDP) “What’s in the building”: Determining space program of the building based on MSBA guidelines, potential locations, and potential relative costs of those options based on generalized criteria.
• Preferred Schematic Report (PSR) “Where is the building?”: Choosing a single preferred concept based on the space program, multiple sites, configurations, and general building construction choices the district elects. The cost estimates are based on general estimates based on City’s decisions made. 
• Schematic Design (SD) “What does the building cost?”: The chosen concept is developed into a specific schematic building design proposal with systems and material narratives, and a project budget for design development through project completion. This budget is approved by MSBA and City, and the MSBA provides their maximum potential grant for the project.

On the current schedule, the project site will be chosen in the Fall of 2026, and the final budget for the building will be determined by August of 2027. As different schemes have different construction durations, the proposed opening date will develop throughout 2026-2027, with the earliest opening possible being Fall 2030.

More information can be found about the MSBA process here – https://www.massschoolbuildings.org/buildingFor more information, please go to the MSBA website.

As part of the project, the Design Team assessed the conditions of the existing Hemenway School building and site as well as the Bethany Site. The teams surveyed the buildings and created detailed reports on the conditions of the existing Mechanical, Electrical, and Plumbing systems as well as the structural systems, building envelope, and interior finishes. The site analysis includes a desktop review of existing and adjacent environmental classifications and geotechnical conditions of the sites. All of this information is contained in the linked reports. 

Link to Existing Building Folder

The new elementary school will be built to the most up to date building code. The City of Framingham has adopted the Opt-in Specialized Energy code as of July 2026 which requires new construction to be fossil fuel free or pre-wired for future electric conversion. As part of the feasibility study the project team will review various ways to meet these codes as well as evaluate any additional sustainability goals based on feasibility, up front cost, life-cycle cost, and potential grants and reimbursements. 

The sustainability standards and goals for the new elementary school will be evaluated by the SBC as well as a sustainability sub-committee inclusive of City stakeholders, design team, School district personnel, and the City facilities department. These decisions will be discussed and evaluated as part of the MSBA feasibility study during the Preferred Schematic Report (PSR) and Schematic Design (SD) periods starting in Fall 2026 through Summer 2027.

The School Building Committee was given an initial presentation on the sustainable systems in the proposed building on 8/31/26. 

Include as viewable powerpoint - CMTA Slides from 8/31/26

This aspect of the project is continuing to develop. 

There are two site options for this project, the existing Hemenway Elementary School site, or the parcel purchased by the City of Framingham on Bethany Road.

Over the course of the Fall of 2026, the School Building Committee will discuss differences between these sites and the options they present for a new school. Once such challenges is the distribution of students within the city relative to the school they attend. That is represented in the graphic below for each of the 9 current schools.

More will  be coming soon as this is discussed by the School Building Committee.

The project is supported by the Massachusetts School Building Authority as part of their Core Grant Program. It reimburses the City for eligible costs associated with this feasibility study and if the City votes to fund the project in September 2027, they would reimburse a significant portion of the design and construction costs.

At the Preliminary Design Program stage, the consultants developed initial costs based on differences between the schemes to understand relative cost differences based on the average Massachusetts school as a benchmark. At the Preferred Schematic Stage the cost estimates begin to reflect the further development of each scheme to make an informed decision of which should move forward. At the Schematic Design Stage a detailed estimate of the design scope is established to develop a total project budget. This budget accounts for all aspects of project completion, and serves as the basis for the grant and the funding asked to the City.

The following are the estimates the SBC considered at the end of PDP:

The core grant program reimburses the community for eligible costs at the District’s base reimbursement rate (70.43%), plus any project specific additional reimbursement points earned. That base reimbursement rate is adjusted annually based on community factors and is not locked until the District is offered a Project Scope and Budget agreement at the end of Schematic Design. 

The MSBA has several types of costs which are ineligible for reimbursement. They fall into four general categories.

• Costs that are not core to the educational program
  • Land Acquisition
  • Legal Fees
  • Off-site Improvements
• Costs for items that are not part of the permanent building and grounds
  • Swing Space
  • Building Permits / Local Board Costs
  • Financing Costs
  • Site Remediation
  • Asbestos Containing Floor Tiles
  • Utility Company Charges
• Costs beyond the project scope
• Costs that Exceed MSBA Caps
  • Soft Costs exceeding 20% of construction costs
  • OPM costs exceeding 3.5% of construction costs; Architect costs exceeding 10% of construction costs (CAPS OUT at $550/sf of construction costs updated 2023)
  • Building costs exceeding $586/SF (updated 2025)
  • Eligible site costs that exceed 10% of building costs up to $59/SF (updated 2025)
  • Furnishings and Technology Equipment that exceed $2,400/ student based on approved enrollment
  • Change Orders exceeding 1% of construction cost
  • Costs for Spaces that Exceed Guidelines (sometimes)
  • Costs for spaces that are eligible but exceed the MSBA guidelines and not approved by MSBA staff
  • Synthetic Turf; Spectator Amenities; Stadiums
  • Auditorium (although a “cafetorium” would be eligible)

As a result of the ineligible costs and cost caps the maximum total grant is often 15-20% lower than the City’s reimbursement rate.

As part of the MSBA process the project team pulled together all the required documents for the Preliminary Design Report (PDP) for the project. This is the first major milestone in the MSBA feasibility study phase. The intent of the PDP is to define project needs and evaluate potential building alternatives. The full report is available in the link below.

The next major MSBA milestone is the Preferred Schematic Report (PSR) and that will be submitted on December 8, 2026 and linked to this page once completed.

Link to google drive of PDP Binder