Belmont Planning Commission holds study session on Charles Armstrong School expansion; no decision made

Belmont Planning Commission members on Tuesday heard an informational presentation on the Charles Armstrong School Expansion Project, a multi‑phase plan to add classrooms and an athletic building at the school's 1405 Solana Drive campus. The study session was informational only; staff and the applicant described entitlements that would be sought in upcoming public hearings and no decisions were requested or made.

The project proposes two construction phases. Phase 1 would add roughly 11,900 square feet for an academic wing with specialty classrooms (art/makerspace, music, movement), a science lab, six standard classrooms, faculty workspace, and support offices. Phase 2 would add about 11,100 square feet for an athletic/multipurpose building with a small kitchen and PE support spaces. Project materials shown to the commission estimate the combined new building area at approximately 23,000 square feet; the applicant also proposes to increase the school's permitted enrollment cap from 260 to 290 students and add about 11 faculty positions.

‘‘Charles Armstrong School unlocks the unique potential of students with dyslexia and related learning differences,’’ Gil Tuck, the school's head of school, told the commission as he described the school's mission and the programmatic reasons for the expansion. Tuck and other school representatives said existing facilities…