Pollard schematic redesign moves auditorium into Phase 1; committee approves $75,000 for environmental testing as sustainability options advance

Architects from HMFH presented a revised schematic for the Pollard School on Feb. 9, 2026, shifting the auditorium, gym and several ancillary spaces into Phase 1 while leaving the sixth-grade wing for Phase 2. The change reduces the project’s measured average building height (design team cited an advertised average near 51 feet, under the 60-foot threshold) and is intended to lower cost and complexity in later phases while preserving key program elements for students during construction.

The design team said moving the auditorium and associated programmatic spaces into Phase 1 makes the project more compact, lowers the building profile and creates options for phasing that limit disruption to school operations. Matt LaRue of HMFH and his colleagues showed how wings were re-located on the north side of the hub to keep only the sixth-grade wing in Phase 2. They noted the model and site-plan overlays still require adjustments (for example, the sixth-grade footprint currently overlays the soccer field in the presentation), which HMFH said they will correct in the next update.

Committee members pressed the team on construction timing and site impacts. The team said they are targeting mobilization by the end of June for Phase 1 activities and that substantial demolition and foundation work would be concentrated in a summer window…