Construction of the new Norwalk High School got a ceremonial start Monday, with local officials, joined by Gov. Ned Lamont, tossing shovelfuls of dirt in the air for its official groundbreaking.
Construction workers, well along in demolishing the existing athletic field – the site for the new school — temporarily silenced their machines for the official groundbreaking. The ceremony occurred five years after announcement of the state-city partnership to fund the planned 328,000-square-foot structure.
At an estimated cost of $239 million – with the state picking up 80 percent of the tab – the new building will house two schools: a comprehensive high school with 1,500 students and a P-TECH school with 500 students.
Completion is expected in early 2027.
After lengthy analysis of where to locate the new building on the existing campus, bordered by County Street and Strawberry Hill Avenue, the decision was made to place it where the school’s athletic stadium, Testa Field, now sits.
The effort to replace the existing school was spearheaded by state Sen. Bob Duff (D-25th Dist.).
Duff has emphasized his success in getting the state to raise its reimbursement for the school’s construction from the usual 22.5 percent to 80 percent. That will save Norwalk taxpayers more than $166 million. The city’s share amounts to $47.8 million.
In his remarks during the ceremony, Duff said construction will be difficult and disruptive at times, but the new building and its amenities “will be the envy of the state.”
The current building will continue to function during construction, but the work means the immediate loss of the stadium field and its running track, and the softball field along County Street, displacing the school’s athletic programs. Student parking will soon be moved to Andrew’s Fields, located several blocks west of the campus.
The new facility was designed by Kaestle Boos Associates of New Britain. Construction is being managed by Gilbane Building Company, with headquarters in Providence, Rhode Island.
Recalling tours Duff gave of the existing building to point out its inadequacies and deteriorated condition, Common Council President Darlene Young told the audience replacing the school meant replacing a hindrance to students with a state-of-the-art facility.
Gesturing toward Norwalk High students in the audience, Norwalk Superintendent of Schools Alexandra Estrella said they were the motivation for creating the new facility.
“We need to make sure that we have facilities that are equipped to set up experiences that prepare scholars for the future, and in order for us to do that, we need to have more projects like the ones that we’re seeing here today” Estrella said.
Gov. Ned Lamont said education is Connecticut’s “secret sauce” that allows him to tell other governors he meets that the state has “the best trained, most productive workforce in the world.”
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