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08/10/2021 12:00 AMWith phase one demolition underway to remove a portion of the 1970's-era, two-story building addition, North Branford High School (NBHS) will start the 2021-22 school year with 90 percent of the school building in operation and ready for students to return on Sept. 1.
Following abatement, current demolition work continues to remove and clear away 10 percent of the building which has been demolished at the back of the school, together with 25 percent of the overhead bridge which once connected NBHS to the North Branford Auditorium and North Branford Intermediate School (NBIS). A total of 13 classrooms have been removed as part of the phase one demolition work. Any remaining connections to the standing NBHS school building will be sealed up at all points.
According to the minutes of an Aug. 2 special meeting of the Town's Permanent Project Building Committee, "...the building will be closed in to allow for students to be allowed safely in the building for the beginning of the school year."
Safety inspections will be implemented to provide for a temporary certificate of occupancy. The minutes also noted the building's Internet was expected to be restored by the end of the week. Additionally concrete was expected to be mobilized that week, ahead of schedule.
At the July 22 Board of Education (BOE) meeting, Superintendent of Schools Scott Schoonmaker shared that the remaining areas of the building have been prepared by summer work crews to welcome students back. To make up for the 13 classrooms which have been removed "...we'll be sharing rooms throughout the day," said Schoonmaker.
The $66 million project, of which some 43 percent will be reimbursed by the state, is expected to be completed by December 2023.
The new NBHS building, designed by Quisenberry Arcari Malik (QA+M) Architecture (Farmington), is being built to accommodate 524 high school students. The 106,100 square foot school building will have features include learning commons, science labs, engineering and technology, culinary arts, media center, arts and music, a gymnasium, and a cafeteria.
Construction is being undertaken by Gilbane Building Company (RI) to complete the 30-month, multiple phase project which is orchestrated to accommodate operations at the existing high school, which will be completely demolished after construction is complete.
Gilbane was awarded the project in June 2021. According to project information shared at the Gilbane company website, "A key component of the Gilbane team's selection was their vast experience in working on occupied school campuses, as the construction site is also adjacent to an operational intermediate school. The team has developed strict safety and logistics measures to ensure minimal disruption to the surrounding community and student safety is paramount."