About the Project

Project Facts & Figures

Both a new building and an addition/renovation project are being considered.
Location to be determined November 12: built either on the adjacent fields or phased in place on current LHS footprint.
Designed ~460,000 sq ft building for 2,395 students. Current LHS facilities are 352,000 sq ft, with capacity for 1,850 students.
Either 470 (add/renovate) or 500 (new build) parking spaces. Current LHS has 450.
New LHS will be 4 stories. Current LHS is 1-2.
All athletic fields impacted by construction will be rebuilt, either in their current location or another place on the campus.
All electric building, LEED certified, with cost-saving sustainability features.
Appropriately sized classrooms and hallways.
First floor gymnasium, 1,000 seat auditorium, right-sized dining commons.
Flexible expansion space built into new LHS (can accommodate up to 3,000+ students):
- Per MSBA guidelines, designed 85% capacity, can increase up to 95% if needed.
- Includes 20,000 sq ft of Lexington Public Schools Central Office space, designed at classroom size for easy conversion if needed.
- Site preparation for an addition of 25,000 sq ft to be built if needed.
Field House will remain on campus - Final decision on renovation, addition/renovation, or small/medium/large new Field House is TBD.

Project Timeline: From here to Groundbreaking!

November 12, 2024: School Building Committee votes on their single Preferred Schematic Option to move forward, submits Preferred Schematic Report to the MSBA.
December 2024 - November 2025 : Schematic designs are developed, with details on scope, budget, and schedule. Working with MSBA on project funding agreement.
November 2025: Town Meeting votes to authorize funding the project, contingent on a successful debt exclusion vote by a majority of Lexington voters in December.
December 2025: Town-wide Debt Exclusion vote to fund the project.
Beginning January 2026: Detailed design and construction documentation are developed, bidding process to follow.
Late 2026: Early construction work start date.

Project History: Past, Present & Future

Present

Lexington High School faces severe overcrowding, inadequate facilities, failing infrastructure, and undersized educational spaces. The Town has been considering how to address the deteriorating condition of the high school for over a decade, and planning for this project has been ongoing for years.
In March 2022, the Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA) invited the Town of Lexington into the MSBA’s Eligibility Period for a new or renovated Lexington High School. The MSBA is a government authority that partners with communities to support the design and construction of educationally appropriate, flexible, sustainable, and cost-effective public school facilities. The MSBA provides large grants to towns to help pay for school building projects. To receive funding from the MSBA, a building project needs to adhere to the MSBA process and strict guidelines for square footage, including a rigorous evaluation of project alternatives.
Over the past 2.5 years, the School Building Committee (SBC) has collaborated with several Town boards and committees to develop and assess alternative options for a new LHS. From an initial pool of 18 conceptual designs, the SBC narrowed down to six massing studies* that were considered in depth.
On October 21, 2024, the SBC voted unanimously to narrow the design options from six to two: the “Bloom” option (new construction on fields) or the “Weave” (new construction phased-in-place).
On November 12, the SBC will select the most cost-effective and educationally appropriate option to include in the Preferred Schematic Report that Lexington will submit to the MSBA for approval. See the LHS Building Project website for more details.

*A massing study is a 3D modeling process that architects use to analyze the shape, size, and configuration of a building project.

Looking Forward

After November 12, 2024, and upon receiving MSBA approval, the SBC and our team of designers will move into the Schematic Design phase for the selected option, where they will further refine the selected design, develop full schematics and detailed design plans, and work with MSBA on a funding agreement.
Next November 2025, Town Meeting will be asked to vote to fund the fully designed and priced LHS project, contingent upon a successful debt exclusion vote by a majority of Lexington voters in December.
In December 2025, the town-wide debt exclusion vote to fund the project will be held.

Looking Back

In 2018, the LPS Master Planning Advisory Committee (“Advisory Committee”) was convened by the School Committee, and charged with developing recommendations for capital planning and addressing capacity at Lexington’s schools. The 2015 LPS Master Plan had already identified the need for a new or renovated high school, and the Advisory Committee recognized that an LHS project was the capital priority of the district. They began preparing for a future project and submitted the Town’s first Statement of Interest (SOI) for an LHS project to the MSBA in 2019.
After releasing an updated 2020 Master Plan and submitting a second SOI, in 2021 the Advisory Committee concluded that Lexington High School was the most critical priority. The Committee strongly endorsed a plan to increase the size of the high school by either replacing it with a new building or completing a comprehensive renovation with additions (LPS Master Facilities Plan).
The Town submitted its third SOI and was invited into the MSBA’s Eligibility Period for a new or renovated Lexington High School in March 2022. As required by the MSBA, the School Building Committee (SBC) was appointed to oversee and facilitate the project.
The SBC comprises Town and School staff, community members, and representatives from the Owner’s Project Manager (OPM) and Designer teams. Members include the LPS Superintendent, Lexington Town Manager, the LHS Principal, Assistant Town Manager for Finance, Department of Public Facilities Director, and representatives from the School Committee, Select Board, Permanent Building Committee, Capital Expenditures Committee, Appropriations Committee, and Sustainable Lexington.
The School Building Committee has held more than 100 public meetings to develop and assess plans for a new LHS. All agendas, meeting presentations, and meeting recordings are available on the LHS Project Website. The SBC has completed a detailed educational plan for the high school, produced a space summary, documented existing conditions, determined site development requirements, and designed and evaluated approximately 20 alternative projects.