Milton’s Reconstruction Plan: Another Check-in

By ELLIE MRAZ ‘21

Change is in the air! In the coming years, a large part of Milton Academy’s campus will have a whole new look. The graduating seniors may not even recognize it when they come back to visit.

The campus’ Master Plan includes a new highly efficient heating and cooling HVAC system that could be used to make the ice for the hockey rink in addition to providing air conditioning to the ACC, Chapel, and Squash Courts. The process of installing this HVAC system should be completed by December 2019.

Other additions include the Ware Hall elevator installation (which should be completed by fall 2019), an expansion of the Student Center, the repositioning of the library to Wigglesworth Hall, and the repositioning of the math and computer programming departments into the current library building.

Major changes are in store for the Student Center, a common student hangout spot located in the heart of campus. Within this building, the Office of Multiculturalism and Community Development will move from its secluded basement in Wigglesworth Hall to the more accessible location of the Stu. David Ball, the Upper School Principal, states, that “Now, when students enter the ground floor of the Student Center, this office will greet them, an unmistakable sign of our commitment to an inclusive school community.” To the right of this office will be the Community Engagement office which, according to Ball, will be a “visible affirmation of Milton’s relationships with those beyond our campus.” One of the most visible changes will be a three story expansion on the side of the building with the Admissions office. This expansion will provide 4,400 additional square feet for students to spend time together during free periods or before classes. It will also provide students with more dedicated study spaces within the Stu, so students can stop studying at the small high top tables. The Student Activities Office will also be renovated to create a more open environment.

Cox Library will move to Wigglesworth Hall in order to offer easier access so that students do not have to walk across the street. Cox will turn into an expanded Skills Center  a step from the Skills Center’s previous position in the library’s basement. This location will provide more accessible help for students. Due to its large size, the building will also be home to the Upper School math department, which has yet to have its own space. Classrooms previously placed on the fourth floor of Ware Hall will now have a more open and bright location.

These improvements will also affect the Middle and Lower Schools. As the middle school is located in Ware Hall, the students will have access to the elevator in addition to future enhancement of certain spaces such as the 6th grade science classroom and the creation of new assembly spaces. Julia Torrey ‘23 mentioned that she was “on crutches for about a month in 7th grade and found it difficult to get from the basement to the second floor of Ware multiple times a day… an elevator in Ware would be very beneficial and would allow for more accessibility for students and faculty at Milton.” Additionally, the modern language department will remain on the 3rd and 4th floors of Ware, so its members will also benefit from the elevator.

Heidi Vanderbilt-Brown, Milton’s CFO and COO, is taking the lead on this project with the help of design firm Architectural Resources Cambridge (ARC). With input from teachers and the school leadership, the Master Plan was created in light of what each department wanted so that the curriculum could be taught in the best possible way.

According to Vanderbilt-Brown, this summer “pre-construction” work will take place with a construction firm called Skanska. This work will include deciding the order, timing, and cost of the above projects. Ms. Vanderbilt-Brown states “this is meant to be an inclusive and iterative process. We are using the discussion format you see in our classes every day to make sure we get to the best possible designs that will benefit the Milton students of today as well as those in the future.” When Pritzker Science Center was undergoing reconstruction a few years ago, portable buildings were used temporarily in its place. These new plans will be designed to avoid those types of excess costs.

These major improvements are all part of the Master Plan. There are also other smaller campus improvement projects planned every summer to improve all K-12 programs. In the near future, these changes will include a new audio visual system in the Kellner Theater and renovations of the Robbins dorm common space, kitchen, and downstairs bathroom. Ball states that “these enduring elements of a Milton experience now drive a series of interconnected changes to the core of the Upper School, changes that will affirm the centrality of both shared experience and intellectual exploration. More than ever, the heart of the campus will embody what lies at the heart of a Milton education.”