Needham’s School Committee, in partnership with the School Building Committee, held a neighborhood forum May 20 to share updates on the Pollard Middle School project with nearby residents.
The 50-some neighbors in attendance communicated overall support for the project while voicing expected concerns around cost and the disruption of daily life.
After an introduction by School Committee Chair Alisa Skatrud, Matt LaRue from HMFH Architects and Brendan O’Malley from BOND Building Construction shared updated design schematics and projected timelines for the new Pollard building.
LaRue highlighted the evolution of schematics in response to community feedback. Concerns around traffic, tree preservation and solar canopy aesthetics led to changes in parking lot and athletic field locations (reducing activity on Harris Avenue), as well as a tree survey conducted by outside experts and solar canopies that span parking stalls rather than the width of the lots.
“What we’re seeing now is a site plan that’s gelling and won’t need a lot of further conceptual work,” LaRue said.
O’Malley, whose team will be responsible for on-site construction management, shared videos to help residents visualize likely construction timelines — timelines designed to minimize disruptions to school activities. O’Malley noted spring 2028 would be dedicated to mobilizing and preparing the lower section of the site. Construction of the new building would begin fall 2028 following summer demolition. After 7th and 8th grade students move into the completed section of the school, construction of the 6th grade wing is targeted for fall 2030 and restoration of Warner Field and adjacent parking lots for fall 2031. January 2032 is the planned end date for the entire project.
O’Malley also clarified that drilling for geothermal wells would occur within the first six months of construction.
Abutters were given the opportunity to respond in a Q-&-A session following the presentations. Questions centered around planned bus routes, tree removal, scheduled work hours for construction and overall consideration for neighborhood aesthetics and priorities.
“You just see the writing on the wall; and, you know, my quiet neighborhood is suddenly transitioning,” said Sandy Hughes, a 43-year Needham resident from Pinewood Road. “But again, I support this; we need a school, I know we need a school … there’s just a lot of little questions that I still have.”
“We all have no problem with the school being readjusted, but we want to maintain the integrity of the neighborhood,” echoed resident M.J. Pender, who lives on the corner of Harris Avenue and Pinewood Road.
Presenters offered brief responses to the questions asked. Buses, they said, will enter from a one-way driveway off Dedham Avenue and will primarily exit through Harris Avenue post-construction; during phase two of construction, buses will temporarily exit through Glenwood Road. As many trees as possible will be preserved, though maneuvering construction machines around the site will require a swatch to be removed and replanted; O’Malley said the construction team has done what it can to modify its approach (entering through the western side rather than the eastern side) to lessen tree removal. Construction work hours have not yet been defined, but will be set according to school schedules and town bylaws — typical hours are Monday-Friday, 7 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., with occasional Saturdays. Based on residents’ feedback, design teams will keep in mind the importance of neighborhood aesthetics, unmanicured spaces, bike circulation through school grounds and conducting outreach to obtain youth perspective around spaces designed for their use.
“I think the idea of input from students is a big one, and hearing directly from them, how they think they would use the space, is going to mean [designs are] more successful in the end,” LaRue said.
The biggest grumblings of the night centered around a lack of specific cost estimates for the geothermal HVAC system, with several residents pushing for a number.
“When do we expect to have estimates in-hand?” Superintendent Dan Gutekanst asked presenters.
“First week of June.”
The meeting closed with a reminder from Gutekanst about future abutters meetings, which will take place over the summer —“We’ll identify some dates and get them out.”
Edited at 10:03 a.m. May 28, 2026
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