Riverbend School the construction zone has made its final leap to becoming Riverbend School, the campus. Located at 33 Eliot St., the K – 8, 200-student Montessori-method institution has finished the Upper School building and the gymnasium, the last of three major building projects that kicked off in 2014. Let’s just say it’s been a busy six years at Riverbend, which has had a presence in South Natick since 1986.
Designed by Piatt Associates Architecture, the Upper School contains three purpose-built lower elementary classrooms, as well as dedicated design and art studios. A stand-alone, full-size gymnasium provides plenty of space for indoor recreation, and will also generate revenue through rentals of the space. Both new buildings are located on the field adjacent to the Middle School, which is part of the historic Peletiah Morse Tavern, on Rte. 16.
“All of the buildings for the campus were intended, as designed, to be respectful of the character of the John Eliot Historic District and I hope the new buildings will be seen that way as well,” says architect Jim Piatt.
The two previous building projects, both also designed by Piatt, were Children’s House, completed in 2014; and the Middle School, attached to the tavern, completed in 2017.
Head of School Whitney Slade took time out of his day to give me a tour of the campus, which he said is “geared toward our kids, Montessori kids, the way they’re taught and the way they learn. In the Montessori method, big open spaces are needed.” Here are a few pics of how that was achieved:
Children’s House, completed in 2014, is what drivers-by would likely identify as the main building of Riverbend. The 13,000 square-foot building houses the approximately 100 students in the toddler-kindergarten program, as well as administration offices.
The Middle School was built using red cedar boards, which already have faded and darkened to evoke the barns of colonial New England. The building is attached to the white clapboard tavern and the design was kept simple so as not to compete with the historic post and beam structure. This building houses the middle school classrooms for math, science, general curriculum, and a music and band room.
Riverbend broke ground on the Upper School building in October 2019. The new structure contain three purpose-built lower elementary classrooms, as well as dedicated design and art studios. Architect Jim Piatt chose white as the predominant color for the structure to maintain a feeling of cohesiveness across the campus. This building is for the lower elementary students, grades 1 -3, and contains art and design space.
A stand-alone, full-size gymnasium also was part of the construction project. 
Interior of the gym, which is air conditioned, as are all of the Riverbend buildings. “We’ll be renting out the gym to Natick Rec, Dover-Sherborn basketball, and others, so the gym is also a revenue opportunity for us,” Slade said.
This shot is facing east from across campus. The white building, left, is Children’s House. The cedar-clad building, right, is the Middle School. The steepled building, center, is the former Sacred Heart Catholic Church. Although it appears that the church is part of the Riverbend campus, it’s actually across Route 16. After over a decade of standing vacant the church recently sold, and the new owners have been putting hours of sweat equity into the building daily. But that’s another post….
Skylights, teacher-controlled lighting system, radiant heated floors and a flat roof for hidden solar panels, were all part of the building projects.
A classroom waits for set-up.All told, the school has put over $5 million into creating its new campus. The Natick-owned brick building the school worked out of for decades is now vacant. But with grades 4-6 located in Memorial Hall, Riverbend hasn’t completely crossed Eliot Street.
Slade is now focused on what September will look like for Riverbend. “We’re developing protocols to keep everyone separate,” he said. “We’re working with the Natick Board of Health with the goal of providing a safe learning environment for our students, their families, and our staff. We’ll miss out on field trips this year, unfortunately. Maybe we’ll go over to Elm Bank, since we can walk there.”
“And there’s always Forest Friday,” Slade said, pointing to the wooded conservation land the school abuts. “That’s very big here.”
Head of School Whitney Slade was masked up during our tour, of course, but I convinced him to drop the face covering for this pic.Other sneak peeks:
Sneak peek: we get a look at the Babson College globe
