AMHERST – A designer for the Amherst Elementary School Project has been selected.

DiNisco Design was chosen for the project after being selected by the Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA) Designer Selection Board, according to a news release from the town. DiNisco Design has completed many K-12 projects in the commonwealth, including two prior projects which successfully joined two school communities together.

Elementary School Building Committee (ESBC) Chair and Town Councilor Cathy Schoen stated in the release, “This is a very important step for the town as we move forward with providing a new school for the town’s elementary students, teachers, and staff. The new building will be an asset for the entire community.”

The new school would combine students from both Wildwood and Fort River elementary schools into a new school building for grades K-5. The selection of DiNisco comes after two projects that studied the options for the future school building’s location in hopes of combining the two school communities in a single location, according to the release.

The first studied options for a project on the Wildwood site and the second studied comparable options on the Fort River site. The town’s Elementary School Building Committee (ESBC) will now revisit those options with a new owner’s project manager (OPM) and designer.

“We appreciate the excellent leadership and strong working relationship we have with the Massachusetts School Building  Authority. The town has come together to address the needs of our students and I look forward to moving this project forward,” Superintendent Mike Morris added in the release.  

Schoen, Morris, and School Committee member Ben Herrington participated in the designer selection process. According to the release, it is anticipated the town will request a debt exclusion vote at an election for the town’s share of the project, and a project website is coming soon. The full announcement is available on amherstma.gov under News & Announcements.