by Rick Winterson
The City of Boston held a Community Meeting at the Tynan Community Center on East Fourth Street. The topic was “Planning for the Future of 95 G Street”, where Excel High School now sits. Lydia Polaski, the South Boston Liaison from Mayor Wu’s Office of Neighborhood Services, conducted this meeting, along with six members of the 14-person BPS Project Team that is planning the future of the High School.
So a valid question to everyone in South Boston is “What comes next for the school building and its site at 95 G Street?”
The Boston School Committee already voted to retain the building as a Boston Public Schools (BPS) high school. We heard a number of rumors about the 95 G site’s future, including one that converts it into a huge residential facility. However, the BPS Project Team mentioned above aims to develop renovation plans and cost estimates by the end of 2026, which will upgrade 95 G Street into a modern, versatile high school.
These high school renovations and upgrades were the topic of the well-organized Community Meeting on June 22. Nearly 100 South Boston residents showed up. Lydia Polaski and the other Project Team members in attendance presented a 45-minute summary of their plans so far. An analysis of existing conditions, such as documentation, means of access, energy efficiency needs, and modern safety code requirements, is now finished. A feasibility study of required repairs and upgrades, program updating, and enrollment scenarios (a 600-student figure was mentioned) will be completed by the end of the summer. Plans for preserving the High School building’s history, significant artifacts, and (especially) its World War I Memorial are in the works.
When Polaski completed her update, she opened the meeting to discussion by audience members. Veterans who were present further insisted upon careful preservation of the school’s World War I Memorial. (NOTE: South Boston does not have an outdoor memorial to WWI. Perhaps it’s time for our community to look into that.) Many loud, emphatic comments were made about preserving the school as a South Boston facility, including changing the school’s name back to “South Boston High School”, even if it will be open to students from all over Boston.
The Project Team in charge of the High School renovations includes members from Boston’s Public Facilities Department and the BPS offices of Capital Planning, Engineering, and Facilities. In addition, nine consultant groups are taking part. The current aim is for the project to begin actual onsite work early in 2027. The target date for reopening the upgraded high school is estimated to be September of 2028. Certainly, these are very ambitious goals.
South Boston Online strongly recommends that you keep up with this project by attending progress meetings and making your own recommendations about how the project should proceed. And for your information, the BPS is still responsible for the 95 G Street site. Public parking will continue to be permitted on the school’s lot (as it is now) until further notice. Also, the BPS will still maintain the school property (including dumpster servicing and trash removal).
