Madison Park Technical Vocational High School

The Mayor of Boston has committed the largest investment in a generation to the renovation of Madison Park Technical Vocational High School, the City’s only vocational high school. The school is home to dedicated staff and students, but after decades of disinvestment in staff and resources, has faced declining enrollment.

This investment is driven by several key factors. First, Madison Park Technical Vocational High School is located in Lower Roxbury, a neighborhood with a rich history in Boston's civil rights movement. This historical significance underscores the importance of ensuring the school serves as a beacon of opportunity and advancement for its community.

The investment also aligns with Boston’s commitment to prepare young people for future success, as laid out in the long-term facilities plan. Many of the district's buildings, including Madison Park, are aging and deteriorating, creating a critical need for renovations to provide safe and conducive learning environments, and the state-of-the-art facilities Boston’s only career and technical education school deserves.

We are committed to building a world-class career and technical education facility for Madison Park students through a complete campus redesign and renovation. We aim to provide the facilities and program that equips students for high-quality, fulfilling careers in Boston, including the green sector jobs that will be critical to Boston’s future. The City must act now to secure a better tomorrow for its students.

What’s the timeline for this project?

STEP 1: First, a Feasibility Study for the Madison Park project was prepared by Annum Architects in collaboration with the Public Facilities Department (PFD), the City of Boston, Boston Public Schools, and community stakeholders from August 2022 - October 2023. The Feasibility Study assessed the current conditions of the facilities, identified the community priorities for a redesigned campus, and determined the space needs of MPTVHS. The Feasibility Study is not the final design or architectural plan for the campus nor the program, but it helps us develop a cost estimate for the project for planning purposes.

STEP 2: After presenting these findings, the City of Boston’s Public Facilities Department (PFD) hired an Owner’s Project Manager (OPM) Firm in February 2024. PFD is now in the process of hiring a designer. The Design Selection committee, composed of a current Madison Park student, an alumni, a member of BPS staff, the Owner’s Project Manager (OPM), and 3 members of PFD staff. 

STEP 3: Once the designer is onboard, we will start the design process. There will be open community meetings throughout the design process to engage the community in finalizing the program vision and incorporate community feedback into the campus design.

STEP 4: The final design is expected to be completed in the Spring of 2025, with a goal of starting construction Summer 2025. Construction will happen in phases and last several years. See the graphic below for a visual representation of the timeline.

Who are you engaging with on this project?

We will continue to engage with community stakeholders as we move from the vision and programming phase to the final design phase and the construction phase. Community stakeholders include students, alumni, families, staff, neighbors, labor and employer partners, and community organizations. We have contracted consultants and experts to guide the project forward. Since the Feasibility Study launched in 2022, we have held 20 community engagement sessions and will hold more sessions as we work on developing the final design and programming for Madison Park.

Will Madison Park students have the opportunity to work on this project?

We will strive to engage Madison Park students throughout the design and construction process as much as we can. We want them to be excited and feel ownership over the future of their campus by involving them in design workshops geared for students, utilizing their perspectives and skills, and giving them hands-on experience working on a world-class, urban renovation project.

FEASIBILITY STUDY

What is the Madison Park Feasibility Study?

The Feasibility Study for the Madison Park project was prepared by Annum Architects in collaboration with the Public Facilities Department (PFD), the City of Boston, and school community stakeholders from August 2022 - October 2023. The Feasibility Study assessed the current conditions of the facilities, and identified the community priorities for a redesigned campus, and determined the space needs of MPTVHS. The Feasibility Study is not the final design or architectural plan for the campus nor the program, but it helps us develop a cost estimate for the project for planning purposes.

LATEST DESIGN UPDATES

Which buildings will be used for the Madison Park project?

It is our intention to give Madison Park as much space as it requires for it to be a true state-of-the-art career and technical high school, with dedicated space for adult education and community-facing programming. As we begin design in the late Spring of 2024, we will develop a more detailed campus plan.

Will new programs be considered for Madison Park?

The Feasibility Study, guided by community meetings, identified new potential Career and Technical Education (CTE) programs and program spaces the school currently lacks, including an auditorium, performing arts spaces, and an expanded media center.

We have continued to review current career and technical programs and potential new programs with career and technical, industry, labor economy, and data experts to develop a final list of career and technical (CTE) programs. 

A Madison Park Steering Committee, made up of industry experts and Madison Park advocates, will use their expertise and network to create career pathways and partnerships with key employers and labor unions. Their goal is to set up every CTE program for partnership success and develop a strong workforce and higher education pipeline.

What is the impact of the O’Bryant decision on Madison Park?

The O’Bryant, formerly known as Boston Technical High School, and Madison Park have shared a campus since 1987. Mayor Wu and Superintendent Skipper proposed to move the O’Bryant so that both programs can expand and have the state-of-the-art facilities students need. As of March 2024, O’Bryant will be staying on the Malcolm X Blvd campus throughout Madison Park’s renovation project. Read the full letter linked here and the WREC web page for more details on this proposal.

Where will students go during construction?

We are creating a swing space plan for Madison Park, Adult Education, Re-Engagement Center students to be able to continue their academic and career and technical studies throughout construction. We will also review space needed for extracurricular activities, such as athletic fields. We will share details as we get closer to the construction phase.

What’s the plan for parking?

There are currently approximately 150 parking spaces at the rear of building 7 and on the street, which are primarily used by staff and students. Throughout the design process, the team will consider options for maintaining parking.

Why is the Adult Education program a part of this project?

Decades ago, the Humphrey Occupational Resource Center served as a hub for workforce development, located on the Madison Park campus. This program merged with Madison Park to become Madison Park Technical Vocational High School in 1989. Since then, the Adult Education program and the Re-engagement Center have lived on the Madison Park campus.

PFD is embarking on a programming study for these two programs in order to assess the spatial and programmatic needs of the Adult Education and the Re-engagement Center that also currently use a part of the campus. This programming study will give us an opportunity to understand where this important community resource best fits. If kept on the campus, adults would be isolated and would not learn in the same spaces as students, but may benefit from the career and technical facilities after-hours or on weekends. Since it will host state-of-the-art career and technical facilities and needed community resources, like childcare spaces, the Madison Park campus has the potential to be a strong engine and hub of workforce development for students during the school day and for other community members during non-school hours.

How can we focus on a quality educational experience for all 3 programs (Madison Park, REC, Adult Ed) with O’Bryant still on the campus? 

All the programs and schools currently co-exist on the campus, and, as of now, this will continue. For example, Adult Education programs use vocational instruction spaces at Madison Park. The Madison Park Redesign and Renovation will give Madison Park Technical Vocational High School state-of-the-art facilities and will expand the usable square footage within the existing floorplan by increasing efficiency. We are committed to investing in a renovated campus that includes Adult Education, and we are studying the best future location for the Re-Engagement Center (REC) so that every school community has the space and resources it needs. We know there may be a strong preference for keeping the REC on campus if the available space fits the REC’s needs, so we will use guidance from the visioning study to make these decisions, in consultation with these school communities.

Will there be a space solely for Adult Education or will that program still share spaces with Madison Park High School?

Currently, there is already space solely for Adult Education, which is used for classes during the day, and that will continue to be the case. The intent is for Adult Education to also continue to share spaces with the other schools on campus, which allows for a much larger night school program, as well as Career and Technical Education (CTE) programs that use Madison Park’s vocational spaces in the evening.

No final determinations have been made for where in the building Adult Education will live, but we are looking at various options for how Building 2 might be repurposed. The decision for Adult Education’s final space will be made using the lessons learned in the visioning study. Any options will consider accessibility to be a key priority for all visitors to the REC and to Adult-Education.

Where will the REC and Adult-Education go while Madison Park is under construction?

We are currently evaluating swing space options, and will work with the directors of both the REC and Adult-Education to make sure that any space they occupy, even temporarily, fulfills their needs.