MSBA Moves Brookline’s Edward Devotion School into Schematic Design Phase

State Treasurer Steven Grossman, Chairman of the Massachusetts School Building Authority (“MSBA”), and Jack McCarthy, MSBA Executive Director, announced today that the MSBA Board of Directors voted to move the Edward Devotion School into the Schematic Design phase. In this phase, the MSBA will continue to work in collaboration with the District to produce detailed designs for a potential addition and renovation project at the school. Upon completion and approval of the schematic design by the MSBA Board, the District and the MSBA will collaborate to determine the scope and budget of the proposed project.

“Listening to the needs of a community and developing projects accordingly are priorities at the MSBA, and the Devotion School project is a case study in that sentiment,” said Treasurer Grossman.  “Thanks to our collaborative work with local officials, we are working to build a safe and modern educational facility that will provide students with a top-notch learning environment.”

The proposed project would replace the majority of the existing Kindergarten through grade 8 facility, which was built in 1913. Renovations would also be made to the visible portions of the original school, resulting in a proposed total square footage of 196,580. Edward Devotion School serves 1,010 students and suffers from deficiencies in major building systems including mechanical, windows and roof.

“The improvements at Devotion School will mean a better learning and teaching environment for area students and teachers,” stated Executive Director McCarthy. “We are delighted to be partnering in this proposed project.”

The MSBA partners with Massachusetts communities to support the design and construction of educationally appropriate, flexible, sustainable and cost-effective public school facilities. Since its 2004 inception, the Authority has made over 1,450 site visits to more than 250 school districts as part of its due diligence process and has made over $11 billion in reimbursements for school construction projects.