The Emerson School will start the 2023-24 school year in our current location on the CBI campus. We have signed a month-to-month lease with CBI that will allow us to remain in our current location until our new building is ready.
And, when will that be???
We are all eagerly anticipating this move to our forever home and it is extremely frustrating to have our timeline pushed out once again. Rest assured, The Emerson School will do everything in our power to minimize the disruption to your children and your families when it comes time to move into our new building. We recognize that change can be hard for children (and adults!) and we will utilize every creative option as well as existing breaks in the 2023-24 calendar to ensure a swift and calm transition for our community. Expect the move to take place in late fall/early winter.
While we don’t have a crystal ball or even a firm timeline, here is what we know as of today:
- While creating a school inside an office building continues to present costly challenges regarding architectural and zoning nuances, we continue to collaborate with the Landlord and their architect to work through this highly complex permitting process.
- Sadly, we can’t influence The City of Portland’s timing but we are anticipating permits in August.
- Once permits are issued, construction is expected to take 8-12 weeks after that. Given that timeline, we could get possession of the space as early as November.
- The team is now focused on making sure the move has taken place in time for Emerson to start 2024 in the new building.
We know that the uncertainty of this buildout timeline is unnerving. Yet, with a signed lease in hand, it is important for all of us to remember – it will happen! We wish we could wave a magic wand to speed up the process. For now, we will have to relish in the excitement of what is to come. We will continue to update you on the progress of the buildout throughout the remainder of the summer and into the fall. Stay tuned!