New London High School Replacement Cost At $83.9 Million

Although the figure remains fluid, a cost estimate for replacing with new construction stands at about $83.9 million.

The need for upgrades at the school became known after Assistant Superintendent Christine Carver said violations of the could jeopardize the school’s federal funding. is now looking into the options of fixing the violations, renovating the school as new, or constructing a new building.

Superintendent Nicholas Fischer said the latest estimate for new construction was $83,899,000. The original estimate for the construction of a new school was $69,511,262. He said the costs include modular buildings that would be used as temporary classrooms and a revised state reimbursement, which now stands at 63 percent.

Mike Sorano, of Friar Associates, gave a presentation to the Board of Education earlier this month on the possible construction phases involved in a new school. The Farmington-based company also designed the new and . Sorano said the process is still in flux.

“While this is the fourth presentation of this, it’s not the same presentation,” he said.

Sorano said the construction of a new building on school property without disruption classes is feasible. Under his plan, the shop area of the high school would be demolished to make way for the construction of a new gymnasium and pool. Modular classrooms would be set up on a nearby field, which would later become an athletic field under the final phase of improvements to existing sports facilities. The existing school would then be demolished and replaced with a new building, and the modular structures would then be removed.

Sorano said the projected cost includes finishing the athletic fields and building bleachers and a concession stand. The estimated period of construction would be three years.

“The key is not the length of the timeline, it’s the amount of the disruption,” said Fischer.

Fischer said the school was built before many existing building codes were in place, and that PCBs were often used in building materials such as adhesives and caulking. He said that renovating the school as new would upgrade the existing building, but questioned whether it would be cost effective since such construction often uncovers additional issues which have to be addressed.

“In some cases what it would cost you to renovate as new is equal to what it would cost to build a new building,” he said.

Board of Education member Louise Hanrahan said she once taught in a school that was under renovation. She said problems remained in the heating and plumbing after the construction was finished.

“There were a lot of safety concerns with these students in the building while this demolition and renovation was going on,” she said.

Fischer said he is not sure when a final decision on the future of the school will be made. He said the matter must still go before the Education, Parks and Recreation Committee of the City Council as well as the full seven-member council.