For Immediate Release: 6/4/2015 11:05 am
Worcester, MA (June 4, 2015) - Ground will be broken Monday on a new $58 million Nelson Place School, replacing a structurally-unsound, 88-year-old structure with a state of the art learning environment.
A groundbreaking ceremony featuring local, state and school officials will take place at 9:15 AM, Monday, June 8th at 35 Nelson Place.
The proposed new school will be 111,682 square feet, a space designed to support an educational program for 600 students with expanded pre-kindergarten and special education programs. The existing Nelson Place School currently serves 490 students in half the square footage that would be considered acceptable by the Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA) to meet modern educational standards.
The new building is expected to be ready by August 2017. The existing school will remain fully operational until the new facility is ready.
Site enabling work will begin this summer, including: securing the existing school from the construction site, relocating the playground, providing additional staff parking, establishing entrances to the construction site and preparing the construction site for work to begin next March.
The original Nelson Place School, built in 1927 with additions in 1954 and 1968, has been deemed structurally unsound. Due to mechanical, electrical and building envelope deficiencies, the existing school facility will be demolished to make way for a completely new building.
The new school is slated to be certified as a LEED Gold building; the facility will produce a minimum of 76 percent of its own electricity on site through the use of solar arrays.
The project is funded in part by the MSBA, which will contribute $33 million. The City of Worcester will fund the balance of the project cost, expected at $25 million dollars.
