Revere officials outline McKinley School refurbishment: food hub, early-childhood classrooms and regional 911 center planned

Revere school and city staff presented schematic plans on Jan. 24 for a proposed refurbishment of the McKinley School that would repurpose the building for early-childhood classrooms, a basement food hub and a regional 911 call center.

Justin (district staff member) said the district has procured an owner’s project manager and an architectural firm and has done schematic designs “about a year ago” for several potential uses. He said the proposal under design places the food hub in the basement — “having all the heavy work with water and cooking … wouldn’t be leaking on any classroom space” — early-childhood classrooms in the older left wing (capacity mentioned “in the range of 300 students”), and a regional 911 call center and training center in the larger right wing of the building.

The staff presentation said design work will now move into a deeper cost analysis. Justin said the renovation is likely to include seismic and other structural upgrades because the call center must meet higher continuity standards, plus new elevators and ADA upgrades. He estimated “about a $30,000,000 renovation” and said state and other grant funding would cover a large portion: “The amount of state and SR funding that will come into play will be well north of $20,000,000.”

Justin added the project could relieve space pressures at the police station and deliver restored school and park space for the community. He said, if timelines hold and outside approvals and funding proceed, the McKinley repurpose could open in roughly 2027 and might appear before city council during the current budget season for further approvals.

Ending: Staff said design and cost synopses are underway and that the project will return for further review by both the city and the school committee as grant funding and design details firm up.