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This important historic preservation project has once again made the town hall a center of activity with a large performance - meeting room on the second floor along with an additional small gather space on the first floor. The Whately Historical Society will also occupy space on the first floor with a newly crated Whately Historic Museum. Other improvements to the town's historic structure include a small additon to the rear of the building which provides complete handicap accessiblity with a leveled entryway and elevator to access the large hall on the second floor. Energy efficient LED lighting and a state-of-the-art HVAC system bring the building into the 21 century, with special design attention given to maintain the historic nature of the building. For more information and photos of the ceremony, visit these local news articles:

One on the open block adjacent to the H.B. Lawrence School and the other will replace the William R. Peck School on its existing site. Lots of ground work has already been done by the JWA team and the volunteers of the School Building Committee to get community input, with more events planned over the next eight months. Citizens of Holyoke, especially families of young Holyoke Public Schools students, are invited to participate in the design process at upcoming community meetings.  The first is scheduled for Wednesday, October 25th in the Holyoke Public Library Community Room at 6:00 PM. Ultimately the Holyoke voters will decide whether to construct two new middle school buildings in the coming spring.

"It has been more than 30 years since Holyoke has built a new school,” said Holyoke Mayor Alex Morse.  “We are extremely pleased that the MSBA has voted to allow us to build two schools for our students.  We believe these two schools will provide optimal access and space to meet our community’s needs.  Our students deserve to have world class educational facilities where they can thrive as they prepare to move onto secondary education and eventually college and careers."

Over the past three years, the Holyoke Public Schools has engaged in an extensive analysis and community process to solicit input on the structure of schools in the district, which resulted in a call for new middle school space.  “The overwhelming result was a preference for separate elementary and middle schools,” stated Dr. Stephen Zrike, Jr., Receiver/Superintendent, Holyoke Public Schools (HPS).  “We thank the MSBA for their review and approval.  Opening new middle schools is aligned with our vision of a pathway for every student, responds to community input and creates more choice for students and families.  As a district, we are excited to continue this next step of reenvisioning the middle school experience for Holyoke students.”

The project team was represented forcefully by Mayor Alex Morse, Superintendent Dr. Stephen Zrike, Owners Project Manager Margaret Minor Wood and JWA’s Dorrie Brooks, AIA and Margo Jones, FAIA. On August 29th the MSBA Board of Directors will make their final determination of whether the project will go forward into design.

Jones Whitsett has worked closely with the town on conceptual designs and will design the expansions to the existing buildings which will increase vehicle storage capacity for the Fire Department, improve the office and locker facilities for the Police Department, and add an indoor wash-bay at the Highway Department. Anticipated completion is in 2019.