Mar 19, 2010 8:15 pm US/Eastern
Old Belmont School Being Recycled Into A New One
BELMONT (WBZ) ―
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What's left of the Wellington Belmont Elementary School, March 19.
WBZ
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A rendering of what the Wellington Belmont Elementary School will look like when it's finished.
Jonathan Levi Architects
Four out of five of Grace Schmelzer's children went to
Wellington Belmont Elementary School, which is why they are going to miss it after it is completely destroyed.
"My son came up to me with tears and said 'Mom to them it's just a building, but to me it's...' and then started sniffling," said Schmelzer.
By the time Schmelzer's youngest daughter Elizabeth goes to the school, she will go in a brand new building.
The school is getting a multi-million dollar makeover that is changing it's colors from red to green.
Nearly all of the debris from the current building will be recycled into the new school.
The steel, brick, concrete, and roofing materials are all being reused.
The project managers say by July 2011 the new building will include a cooling system using wells, let in more natural light, and may have solar panels on the roof.
It is part of a grant from the
Massachusetts School Building Authority to make schools more energy efficient.
The requirements of the grant are that a new school building will be less costly to operate than a conventional school, it is designed to enhance the learning environment for students, and conserves important natural resources such as energy and water.
The project managers say Wellington Belmont will achieve all of those goals.
"Eighty to eighty-five percent of the old building materials will be re-used," said Dan Lanneville, project manager for Skanska Construction.
The project will cost more than $30 million to complete.
Skanska Construction said about thirty-to-forty percent of the project is being funded by the MSBA with the rest covered by Belmont taxpayers.
Lanneville says the city will save money in the long term..
"The old building was falling apart," said Schmelzer.
"I look forward to Elizabeth going to school in a more functional building. She's excited to start school."
During the construction, students have been relocated to nearby Belmont High School.
(© MMX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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