An update on the schoolyard renovation project at the John F. Kennedy School was provided at the latest Somerville Community Preservation Committee meeting.

By The Times Staff

During the October 22 Somerville Community Preservation Committee meeting, a new timeline was established for the long-awaited schoolyard renovation project at the John F. Kennedy School (PK-8), which will replace the blacktop space.

The project area includes the basketball courts, parking lot, and bus drop-off located on Cherry Street.

The Kennedy Schoolyard is the “first inclusive playground,” explained Jon Bronenkant, senior public space planner from the Office of Sustainability and Community Development Public Space & Urban Forestry.

Inclusive play incorporates universally inclusive design principles to support creativity, interaction, and multiple forms of play for children of all abilities.

Project goals include community collaboration, sustainability and resilience, active and passive recreation, educational features, shade and comfort, tree and pollinator support, and site reconfiguration.

“There are a lot of opportunities to kind of reformat the space to expand the playground, to make better drop-offs, to make a seamless and safer experience at the Kennedy School,” said Bronenkant.

School and community input will occur over the next few months, with an upcoming first community meeting in mid-November, followed by a second community meeting in mid-December.

The team is working with CBA Landscape Architects, LLC. They are in the design stage of the project.

The construction schedule has yet to be determined and will most likely be constructed in two phases, with the initial phase starting in the Summer of 2026 and the second phase in the Summer of 2027 to avoid school-year disruptions.

At the Community Preservation Committee meeting on October 22, there was an initial CPA funding request for $1 million, and Bronenkant says that in November, there will be an anticipated $2 million bonding request, which would then result in a total funding cost of $3 million for the construction of the schoolyard project.

After the presentation, the team listened to feedback from the public. Kat Johnston, a mother of two, who spoke at a city council meeting last November about the schoolyard project, provided feedback. Johnston says that the project is important and she doesn’t want to see it stalled any longer.

“The Kennedy community has had over 300 students move through this space with the promise of a new playground since 2019, and they still haven’t broken ground,” said Johnston. “There is so much support from this community, from the children who use this every day, and the need has just been there for a long time.”