Belmont planning panel backs Charles Armstrong School expansion but is split over planned gym

The Belmont Planning Commission on Jan. 6 voted to recommend that the City Council approve a conceptual development plan for Charles Armstrong School’s proposed campus expansion, while stopping short of a full, unanimous recommendation on detailed approvals for the school’s proposed athletic building.

The commission’s action clears a path for the school to seek council approval of a plan that would add a new academic wing and, in a later phase, an athletics building and associated site work at 1405 Solana Drive. The body voted 6–0 to recommend the conceptual development plan after several hours of presentations, commissioner questions and public comment.

“Charles Armstrong School unlocks the unique potential of students with dyslexia and related learning differences,” Neil Tuck, the school’s head of school, told the commission during the applicant presentation. He described a phased plan that would add classrooms, specialty labs and space for up to 290 students and up to 85 staff, with the school proposing to build the academic wing first and the athletic building later.

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