LYNN — A $20 million building project at St. Mary’s High School reached a milestone Thursday with a topping off ceremony prior to the last steel beam being put into place.
School administration, trustees, students, alumni and Mayor Thomas M. McGee signed the beam, which had been painted in St. Mary’s blue and gold by art students.
“This is a tangible sign that the project is close to fruition,” said Head of School Dr. John F. Dolan. “This is going to change the future of St. Mary’s. This building will be a fully functional, state-of-the-art science center that will operate year-round.”
The new STEM building, a three-story, 30,000-square-foot edifice that will sit behind the new gateway entrance to campus, will include two floors of classroom and lab space, cutting-edge equipment and learning spaces for students in grades 6-12. The first floor will include the lobby, main office, guidance office and learning commons.
Funding for the project came from the Building Futures Campaign, which raised more than $20 million. Construction of the gateway entrance and STEM building started in May and is scheduled to be completed in the summer of 2020. The general contractor is DeIulis Brothers Construction and the superintendent is Chris DeIulis, St. Mary’s Class of 1995.
“We’ve been involved in a lot of big projects,” he said. “But it’s always special when you get to do something for a place you have a connection with. You can see the transformation that has occurred since I went to school, now this is another transformation.”
“This project is a game-changer for St. Mary’s,” said Dolan, who is excited about the creation of green space, an outdoor quad with a movie screen and a grotto dedicated to the Blessed Mother. “The outdoor space will effectively become our largest classroom. We believe this project will make us unique among schools on the North Shore. This is one of those moments that people will look back on as pivotal in the history of the school, and we are very excited about that.”
