SAUGUS — The new $160 million middle-high school is shaping up and the project is on track to be completed by 2020.
The first steel column went up on Oct. 17, according to Joe DeSantis, an associate with PMA Consultants. To date, 3,074 pieces of steel have been erected and about 13,000 cubic yards of concrete placed. More than 14,000 square feet of roofing has been placed, and, on average, about 75 crew members are on site working during the day.
“It’s so exciting,” said Jeannie Meredith, who chairs both the School Committee and the School Building Committee. “I’m so excited about this. Every time I drive by, I see something new. Sometimes I just drive by to look. It’s surreal to see.”
Voters overwhelmingly supported two debt exclusions to allow for the construction of the new school and a restructuring of the entire district during a special election in June 2017.
The first question requested $160 million for a grades 6-12 combination middle and high school. The second sought support for a $25 million district-wide master plan that would restructure the district to include an upper elementary school for grades 3-5 at the existing Belmonte Middle School and a lower elementary school for pre-K through second grade at the Veterans Memorial Elementary School.
Following the election, the Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA), the quasi-independent government agency that funds public schools, awarded the town a grant of up to $63.8 million to construct the building.
The master plan is a town project and is being pursued through the MSBA. The town’s share of the total project is estimated to be $118 million, bonded over a 30-year period.
When complete, the new middle-high school will be 270,000 total square feet, including a 12,000-square-foot gymnasium and capacity for 1,360 students in grades 6-12. It will house state-of-the-art science labs and technology classrooms, fine and performing arts classrooms and a 750-seat auditorium. In addition, plans include a new sports complex and outdoor track, walking paths, outdoor classrooms, and student gardens. Administrative offices will be moved from the Roby Building.
The school has two wings — one for the high school and the other for the middle school — with common areas on each floor, said Tina Stanislaski, project manager with HMFH Architects Inc.
The middle school side has three stories and the high school side has four.
“The idea is that each floor is a grade of classrooms and in the middle of those classrooms there will be common space with project areas to celebrate the STEAM (science, technology, engineering, art and math) initiative that the town has,” said Stanislaski.
One kitchen will service two cafeterias for the respective schools. Both will share a gym and weight room, which will be on the second floor.
Outdoor classroom space will be located on the roof.
“It’s so much more than a building,” said Meredith. “Our kids are going to be on an even playing field with all these other districts.”
