With approval of the Board of Selectman (BOS) April 6, the architect has been selected, special committee and ex-officio members have been added, and the $88.2 million Walsh Intermediate School (WIS) renovation/expansion project is expected to move forward on schedule.

Branford Public Building Commission chairman Peter Banca told Zip06 he intends to keep the project moving to meet a targeted construction start of late 2017 and an anticipated project completion of summer 2019.

"It's going to be done over two academic years and we are mindful of that, and will be respectful of that," said Banca. "We will keep a safe but productive environment for everybody while this is going on."

The commission recommended architects Antinozzi Associates (Bridgeport and Norwalk) to the BOS as the best choice of four finalists reviewed for job. Banca said the commission's decision, in part, was due to the firm's previous experience with school projects in the state, and "depth of staff" knowledge when it comes to handling this type of project.

"The experience they've had in schools also includes a couple of schools similar to Walsh, where they worked on going from an open classroom to (traditional) classrooms," said Banca.

Grade 5 -8 WIS will be a "hybrid" construction job with a portion of the original building to be renovated; then incorporated with all-new building construction to create a state-of-the-art academic facility.

When the cost to bond the $88.2 million project was approved by the Representative Town Meeting in Jan. 2016, the final cost to the town, following state reimbursements, was pegged at approximately $56 million.

"They also have great knowledge of Connecticut Department of Education procedures for project reimbursement," said Banca of Antinozzi Associates.

"This is a huge project for Branford -- $88.2 million is a lot of money (and) we're a working class town," Banca said. "Our immediate goal, which we will meet, is to get our application into the state by the June 30 deadline."

Banca said the commission is looking forward to working with temporary and ex-officio members appointed to the WIS project by the BOS on April 6. Temporary members include John O'Connor, Kate Rebeschi, Robert Barnett and Robin Goeler (WIS principal). Ex-officio (non-voting) members are Board of Education (BOE) chairman Michael Krause and Superintendent of Schools Hamlet Hernandez; together with commission's standing ex-officio member, Board of Finance chairman Joseph Mooney.

"Jamie Cosgrove has put together a fantastic committee," said Banca of the town's First Selectman. "The four additional members that have just been appointed are going to be most helpful to us. John O'Connor taught in that school, Robin Goeler knows it inside and out, Kate Rebeschi is a teacher there and Bob Barnett is an architect who has done a lot of educational buildings."

In business for over six decades, Antinozzi Associates has undertaken many Connecticut-based school design projects. Some current school projects underway including Eli Whitney Technical High School (Hamden), Thomas Edison Magnet Middle School (New Haven), Orville H. Platt High School (Meriden) and Harding High School (Bridgeport). See designs and completed project photos here 

The firm's academic building project portfolio list includes North Branford Intermediate School (NBIS) but that refers only renovations to the former NBIS building, undertaken about 10 years ago; and not the 2009 redesign and renovation, firm principal Paul Antinozzi confirmed for Zip06.   Newman Architects of New Haven designed NBIS.

Although Branford residents saw some suggested WIS hybrid design renderings during the BOE deliberation process in 2015, those depictions were only conceptual. Antinozzi Associates is expected to have new WIS hybrid building renderings and designs ready in about five months' time.

"The next step for the architectural firm is the design development phase," said Banca. "We expect in about four or five months there will be plans and renderings that will be presented and available to the public."