The Suzuki School of Newton was unanimously approved for $600,000 in Community Preservation Act (CPA) Historic Resource funding to help fund a $2.5 million school renovation at a joint meeting of the Finance Committee and Zoning and Planning Committee on Monday.
“I’m so glad that you brought this project before us,” said Becky Grossman, Ward 7 councilor-at-large and Finance Committee chair. “I’m very supportive of it. I think it’s an absolute no-brainer for us to support it.”
The Suzuki School, located in Waban, is a nonprofit that offers a music program and a full-day, integrated arts preschool modeled on the Suzuki philosophy of education, according to its website.
The school is looking to renovate its building to include a new elevator for accessibility, a central staircase, two new classrooms, and a 500-square-foot “community room” with a cathedral-style ceiling, along with some exterior structural changes, explained Sachiko Isihara, the executive director of the Suzuki School.
“[A new section] will house an elevator and a central staircase, and on the right, where you can see it sort of jetting out, some double windows and a pointed roof with a half-moon window there—that is an addition,” Isihara said.
Isihara indicated that at least one of the classrooms would be dedicated to the preschool and that the community room would host ensemble performances and a variety of Newton and Waban community meetings.
“It will hold two classrooms, one on the ground floor, presumably another preschool classroom,” Isihara said. “The community room, which is the largest … will hold some ensemble performances and community meetings. We currently host the Waban Improvement Society board meetings.”
The building, originally constructed in the 1750s, is a local historic landmark that has been approved through the Newton Historical Commission’s (NHC) landmark review. Renovations to the building have to be done in consideration of its historic character, explained Mollie Hutchings, the chief preservation program planner.
“It’s not just a designated landmark, but a locally known building,” Hutchings said. “It’s right there in the village center. The detailed project scope has been through the landmark review process at NHC, which is the most rigorous approval process we have for historic building projects, and it has been approved.”
Before the committees approved the $600,000 towards the renovation, the Community Preservation Committee (CPC) approved it themselves upon reviewing the school’s application.
“Applications are accepted on a rolling basis, and they’re reviewed by the Community Preservation Committee, and then they come before a relevant subcommittee and Finance before going to City Council for approval,” Hutchings said. “So what you’re seeing here is that second phase.”
A property tax surcharge for Newton residents that is matched by the state, CPA funding totals around $4.5–5 million dollars each year that go toward historic preservation and resource projects, affordable housing, and more, explained Hutchings.
“The Community Preservation Act funding comes from a one percent surcharge on property taxes,” Hutchings said. “You may be familiar with it if you own a home in Newton, but it can be spent on historic resource projects, historic preservation, affordable housing, which we fund through our support of the Affordable Housing Trust, open space projects, and recreation projects.”
The $600,000 only covers 23 percent of the $2.5 million needed for the renovation. An additional $1.5 million has been raised by the school through individual donations, according to Isihara.
“We calculated where we thought we could go with our with our individual donors, and then basically what we were asking for is the gap, which turned out to be about $600,000, which would just get us close enough that we think that we’ll be able to complete the project in the summertime,” Isihara said.
The support from the committees towards the project was overwhelmingly positive.
“I am from Ward 5—I’m from Waban,” said Brittany Hume Charm, Ward 5 councilor-at-large and Finance Committee member. “I’ve had the benefit of walking through this space and getting the detailed tour from Sachiko to really understand the vision of this addition and why it makes sense. I’m really strongly supportive of this proposal.”
The grant will now go to the full City Council for final approval.