Project MOST, the year-round extracurricular enrichment program serving children and families of the East End, has unveiled new plans for the renovation of the Neighborhood House as the new home for Project MOST’s Learning Center. The new plans feature the restoration, renovation, and addition to the historic building located at 92 Three Mile Harbor Road in East Hampton.
East End architect Val Florio, Drew Bennett of D.B. Bennett Engineering, and the leadership team have collaborated on the design of the new center. Florio shared, “The Neighborhood House has served the East Hampton community in many important ways since the 1850s — as a place of care, gathering, learning, and support — and the design for the Project MOST Learning Center was guided by a desire to preserve that legacy while allowing the building to continue evolving in a meaningful way. The additions have been designed in accordance with the Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for the Treatment of Historic Properties, ensuring that new construction remains clearly secondary to, and respectful of, the original structure. Rather than competing with the historic building, the design celebrates its scale, materials, and character.”
The Project MOST team aims to honor the building’s history in this renovation. “Great care was taken to ensure that the project does not alter the established character of the neighborhood, from maintaining the historic roadside presence to providing extensive landscape screening and thoughtfully locating the most active program spaces at the lower level of the new structure to minimize impact,” added Florio.
The new dynamic Learning Center will feature classrooms for enrichment programs, both academic and creative, a larger multi-use space for athletics and performing arts, and a New York State Department of Health-approved kitchen for culinary arts programs. The new Project MOST Learning Center will expand existing programming, including after-school enrichment activities featuring academic support, S.T.E.M., arts and culture, and health and wellness programs, as well as the iGROW Summer Learning Lab, a summer program offering hands-on experiences in the diverse environment of the East End.
“Additionally, an area dedicated to the history of Freetown, where the building is rooted, will honor the cultural and social significance of the site, reinforcing its role as a community anchor — not just for today’s children and families, but as a preserved and living piece of East Hampton’s history. It is our intention to pursue listing of the Neighborhood House on the State and National Registers of Historic Places as part of this effort,” concluded Florio.
Since 2001, Project MOST, a nonprofit organization, has been committed to bridging the experience gap in East Hampton by providing affordable access to dynamic enrichment programs for children.
“The overwhelming support for our new Learning Center plans has energized our vision. We are dedicated to building a welcoming space that offers enriching experiences and dependable, affordable youth programs for East End families,” shared Rebecca Taylor, Executive Director of Project MOST.