The grand opening of Hunnewell Elementary School marks a momentous occasion for Wellesley as the town continues to replace its aging educational facilities with new buildings. The original school on Cameron Street, built in 1938, was razed in June 2022 to make way for the brand-new $55 million, 76,500 sq. ft., building, which will have 18 classrooms (with capacity for a 19th). We took a tour and were wowed by the modern design, spacious classrooms, and cutting-edge technology. But the quiet was eerie, the tidiness aggressive. That all changes on Monday, Feb. 26, when the school gets christened with kids and all that comes with them. The school looks ready to absorb plenty of energy and chaos as this new chapter unfolds in the town’s education of future generations.
Join us on a tour. (Public tours of the new Hunnewell School are planned for May 17-19 during Wellesley’s Wonderful Weekend.)
Please support The Swellesley Report. We’ll settle for way less than $55 million…
Some interesting facts
- The old Hunnewell was a 36,000 square-foot, one-level, 15-classroom building.
- The new Hunnewell is a 75,000 square-foot, two-story, 19-classroom capacity building.
- Owner’s Project Manager: Compass Project Management
- Project construction management: WT Rich Company
- Project architect: SMMA
- Accidents during construction: One. A worker fell and broke both ankles while changing a light bulb.
- Kindergarten and first-grade classrooms are on the first floor.
- 3rd, 4th, 5th grade classrooms are on the second floor.
- There are three classrooms and a learning common for each grade.
- Maximum building capacity of 400 -425 students.
- All exterior doors have double security. Staff must badge in twice. Visitors must be buzzed in through the front door.
- The building is is “net-zero ready.” The future addition of solar panels is expected to get it to that goal.
- All-electrical building.
- Note for future generations—the time capsule is not in a wall, it is in a bench.
- Wellesley’s seven elementary schools are: Bates, Fiske, Hardy, Hunnewell, Schofield, Sprague, and Upham. A new Hardy School is under construction. Upham School will close at the end of this school year. The following schools are not currently under discussion for closing or for major renovation: Bates, Fiske, Schofield, and Sprague.
- Wellesley has one middle school, which has undergone renovations in recent years.
- Wellesley has one high school. The old WHS was torn down and a new building opened to students in February 2012.