A small crowd got a big look yesterday at the new Long Lots Elementary and Stepping Stones Preschool.
Building Committee chair Jay Keenan, with his committee and representatives of FCA Architects, presented exterior and interior plans of the new school, and an update on construction.
Aerial rendering of the new school. Hyde Lane is at the bottom.
Work on the foundation has begun. Geothermal wells on the lower fields have been completed.
Work on the lower athletic fields at Long Lots (right). The former baseball field as at left.
The school — set to open in January of 2028 — is on target to meet or exceed state sustainability targets.
The architecture — with gabled roofs and warm colors — aims for a “cozy and classic New England setting.”
Because the school is built on a hill, both the lower and upper levels will have at-grade access.
The lower floor will include 2nd through 5th grade classrooms, with a gym at the rear.
Gymnasium.
The upper floor will have separate entrances for kindergarten/1st grade, and the Stepping Stones preschool. The cafeteria is on that level.
The upper level, with a 2-story atrium and plenty of light.
Interior features include a double-height atrium, a multi-purpose room, a media center with 2 classrooms and 2 tiered reading areas, and quiet “nooks” throughout the school.
A courtyard will offer benches, an amphitheater, and areas for teaching.
Courtyard.
There will be 3 playgrounds: one for Stepping Stones, one for elementary students, and the current playground named for Sandy Hook victim Dylan Hockley, which will remain.
The bus loop and parent drop-off areas will be completely separate.
Parent drop-off (left) and bus loop (right). Hyde Lane would be at the bottom.
Attendees — a mix of Long Lots parents, school neighbors and curious residents — gave the plans and computer renderings high marks.
“I wish I could go there myself,” said one.
A short video, showing the school plans in “action,” will be posted sometime today on the Long Lots School Building Committee website.
Bus loop and main entrance.
A main corridor, leading to the gym. Multi-purpose room is at left.
Multi-purpose room.
Classroom corridor.
Cafeteria.
(“06880” will report regularly on the new school’s progress — as we do 24/7/365, on everything from education and real estate to local politics, entertainment and more. Please click here to support us!)
At $851 dollars a square foot, this school will be the priciest in Connecticut among comparable schools, and the price will only increase due to inflation and tariffs! It still is shocking that a school built in 1953 and renovated in the 1990s needs to be demolished and not renovated. Moreover, the school population is declining and will decline even further.
Found at least three without looking very hard:
1) Stamford (Westhill High School): Projected around $1,013 per square foot (with a massive budget topping $461 million).
2) Stamford (South School – Lower): Projected at $1,021 per square foot for a new 70,920-square-foot facility.
3) Norwich (Uncas Elementary): Estimated at $1,015 per square foot for a 75,325-square-foot building.
Any tear down costs with the schools you mentioned? Will Westhill be completely torn down, like Long Lots, and be replaced? Also, did Westport lose a million dollars in funding in 2025? Also, note my comment before had the word “ comparable.”
Westhill- $446,000,000 ÷ 450,000 sq ft = ~$991 per square foot. ( Not sure if that takes into consideration tariffs and inflation.)
A specific per-square-foot figure for Uncas hasn’t been publicly released yet, so how did David get the $1015 square foot cost? Does he have insider information that the public doesn’t have? Here’s another question. Do these people who unanimously voted to spend the money to replace Long Lots have a limit on what they can spend? Could they vote to spend 2 billion? What would stop them? There’s no Connecticut law requiring a referendum, so could they spend two billion? Or how about only a billion? How about only 600 million?
Huh? You are comparing a high school with a swimming pool and greenhouse, to an elementary school? Also the state has committed to fund 80% of this project. Tsk.
https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/local/article/stamford-west-hill-high-school-skyrocking-costs-19631207.php
https://static1.squarespace.com/static/64342da24b407573bb8d76c3/t/6734ddeef2517215e71ea1bd/1731517935510/BOF+Response+Memo+20241113.pdf
OK, here’s another one. They’re not hard to find.
The new Roxbury Elementary (K-8) school in Stamford has an estimated total project cost of $130 million for an approximately 115,000 square foot facility. This translates to a construction cost of approximately $1,130 per square foot, which aligns with modern 2026 industry-wide projections of $700 to $1,200+ sq ft for new school construction in Connecticut.
https://schoolconstructionnews.com/2025/12/29/stamford-leaders-approve-plans-for-roxbury-elementary-school-construction/
Beautiful job, LLSBC! You have proven your desire to design a ground-breaking school which will serve generations to come. You’ve been transparent on process, costs, and community impact. Now, let’s get it done!
Didn’t Westport lose about a million dollars in state funding because they missed a 2025 deadline? That’s very significant, if it’s accurate, and petty much a million dollar blunder.
There wasn’t a direct public referendum, but rather Westport’s elected and appointed governing bodies all signed off on it. Maybe a lawsuit should be initiated to demand a town wide referendum! Start that lawsuit! Let the people vote!
Someone tried a referendum Jack. The process went through all the funding bodies, and will house two schools, one being Stepping Stones.
Also added Sustainable Heating and Cooling (Geothermal) which added to the cost.
The project was also delayed due to outside interests, which added to construction costs.
Jimmy
The project has been delayed continually due to project missteps, poor planning and assumptions, and undisclosed “legal issues” that are NOT related to Freedom of Information or the desecration of the town’s only community garden.
What are those “Long Lots issues” in the town attorney’s request for an additional $135k of billings? What are the specific reasons for project delays?
And why was there no public comment at the meeting, but rather unrecorded infividual “roving” discussions in the town hall vestibule? This meeting format was just another in a long series of efforts by the LLSBC to show pretty pictures without answering tough questions about the handling of the project. The poor turnout for this update was the culmination of this committee being as non transparent as they can be.
The school is beautiful — over the top, the “best school ever,“ “the Mercedes” of schools, to the delight of the Finance Board. It is also the key reason Westport taxpayers will be paying 10% or more in property taxes come July.
Yes Jimmy the surprise commingling of a full size turf athletic field on adjacent school property( and not for LL Elementary
usage) with the LLBC mandate to design and build a new school did cause some delay.
Inquiring residents still have no answers regarding that decision making process, who exactly was involved and why was even the thought kept from the public until a FOIA email request illuminated the fait acompli and the ensuing debate.
As an RTM member do you( or anybody) even know how that transpired? Many erroneously tried to blame the Gardeners when clearly the 2 builds should have been handled as separate entities to fast track the completion of the new school. So yes unfortunately outside interests like
the pay for play local soccer organizations must have had a lot of pull with our previous Administration for a new supersized Westport field to indeed be included in the new school project.
That school looks amazing. Can’t help but feel sad for the folks who’ve been stuck for decades in the ugly stepsister of Westport elementary schools: The auditoriumless, largely un-updated Coleytown El.
wondering why if the meeting was held in the auditorium? It wasn’t streamed to the public. They were streaming images of the school, but they didn’t stream the whole presentation very confused.
The new school looks great, and the future students and the staff of Long Lots will appreciate the new building and all those who have supported this project. Gone will be the years of constant water incursions, mold occurrences and mitigations, mechanical failures, water leaks, and high humidity.
I am also proud that the new building will be relying on renewable geothermal heating and cooling, and will use 5x less total energy than the existing building. This reduces pollution into our atmosphere both locally and in our state.
Thank you again LLSBC!