The Brooke Charter School plans to add a three-story addition to the rear of its K-7 building on American Legion Highway in Dorchester. The school’s chief operating officer, Mark Loring, discussed the plan during last Thursday’s online meeting of the Boston State Hospital Citizens’ Advisory Committee (CAC).
“We are looking to add space because we want to add more programming and we are looking to bring in our substantially separate program that is on the Roslindale campus now,” he said, noting that they have campuses in Mattapan, Roslindale, and East Boston.
Another reason for expansion is they are looking to bring 8th grade students back into the building so that it is a true K-8 building once again. About four years ago when they completed the Brooke High School (BHS) next door to Brooke Mattapan, they moved the 8th grade to the new building.
“We’re in a financial position now where we can add on and it’s also better to have those students at the K-8 model because it limits transitions,” he said. “All of the educational studies show that fewer transitions between schools and administrators is better.”
The project would add 10,250 square feet of new construction and renovate 6,200 square feet of existing building area in a three-story rear addition abutting the new athletic field.
The members of the CAC signaled support for the plan. Construction and permitting would start next year, with the hope of opening by August 2024.
Soccer/athletic field update: Eric VanDusen of Lena New Boston said they are working on the permitting and approvals for the proposed new soccer and athletic field adjacent to Brooke High School along Morton Street. “Hopefully we’ll satisfy questions and get permits and be able to start in the fall,” he said.
The field has been controversial with some neighbors in Harvard Commons opposing the development of a field there, mostly because it will disturb a grouping of trees and green space. Others have welcomed the field as a community resource where the school will be able to offer new sports and have home games on the field. The school will purchase the land and will pay to develop it.
Van Dusen to leave CAC after 21 years: Lena New Boston’s Eric Van Dusen, a fixture at the CAC meetings for two decades, announced somewhat unexpectedly that the meeting in June would be his last meeting. “After 21 years it’s a difficult page to turn,” he said. “But it’s what I need to do personally. It’s very hard because I’m invested” in this project. He said he wasn’t retiring or leaving for another job and did not give specifics about what his next step would be.
He said he wasn’t retiring or leaving for another job and did not give specifics about what his next step would be.
Community grants: The CAC voted to disperse $45,149 from the Hospital Trust Fund, which gets money from developers on a per square foot basis to benefit the neighborhoods surrounding the hospital property. There were ten proposals submitted, seven met the requirements, and five were awarded:
ADSL – $5,750; Madison Park Development Corp. – $10,000; Home for Little Wanderers – $9,409; Sportsmens Tennis and Enrichment Center – $10,000; and Boys and Girls Clubs of Dorchester – $10,000.
