Boston city officials toured the vacant West Roxbury Educational Complex on Monday to share their vision about the center’s reincarnation as what they expect to be a pillar of advanced learning.
For months, city officials have been touting plans to reinvigorate the campus that was shuttered five years ago despite controversy and pleas from students and staff that it remain open.
In June, Mayor Michelle Wu and Boston Public Schools Superintendent Mary Skipper proposed that the site become the new location for a renovated and improved O’Bryant School of Mathematics and Science. The current O’Bryant School is about 8 miles away on a shared campus with the Madison Park Technical Vocational High School.
“We see the possibility of creating this college type of a campus experience for the students,” said Richard O’Bryant, chair of the alumni steering committee and son of the school’s namesake. “We've had a lot of wonderful alums that have gone on to do great things, and we certainly want to continue that tradition.”
Skipper said Monday that the O’Bryant needs its own facility to be able to expand the student population from 1,600 to 2,000 and make its mark as a state-of-the-art school for science, technology, engineering and mathematics.
“As an exam school of 1,600 students, it's growing, and right now it can't fully complete what it was set out to do in terms of its STEM education,” she said.
The proposed cost for the complex’s demolition and design work is $18 million — and that price tag is expected to grow as the building moves through each phase, according to city officials.
The building’s demolition and reconstruction is expected to begin in 2026 with the school being ready to accept students by 2029. The city also plans to reinvest in the Madison Park school.
But plans have been met with skepticism from some parents, staff and students from the O'Bryant School, particularly around transporation issues and the affects on current partnerships.
Wu said city officials have been working closely with Boston-based Vertex Pharmaceuticals and other life science companies to create a “sustainable year after year pipeline” for students.
“Not only would the facilities and infrastructure be here, but the companies would be right here on site as well,” she said. “Shaping the curriculum, making introductions, having direct internships and programs so that our young people are able to step right into these opportunities.”
She said she also has been speaking with the MBTA and Gov. Maura Healey about putting a transit stop closer to the campus.
“That would completely change what the district would do relative to what would be naturally available through public transportation if this were accessible from Forest Hills, Back Bay and South Station directly,” she said.
