New Bedford, MA Dellbrook|JKS broke ground at the 52,000 s/f, K-8 Alma del Mar Frederick Douglass Campus on Church St. alongside socially distanced scholars, teachers, staff, and the architects of the project, Arrowstreet.

“We’re thrilled to work with the Alma del Mar Charter School again,” said Dellbrook|JKS project manager Carolyn Kimball. “Their dedication to not just their scholars but to giving back to the local community is unmatched. At Dellbrook|JKS we put heart into what we do – and the Alma team lives and breathes that same approach for the scholars under their roof. It’s incredibly rewarding to be a part of Alma’s growth.”

The new campus, which currently sits on a four-acre site, will feature new classrooms, a gymnasium, cafeteria with servery, offices, and support spaces. Exterior work includes a parking lot, pickup/drop off area, playground, and outdoor recreational & classroom space. 

“By utilizing pre-engineered metal buildings as the basis of construction, students will be in their desks and ready to learn just after December 2021,” Kimball said. “All are approaching this project with a focus on partnership between CM, subcontractors, owner and design team to allow us all work together in achieving the team’s goal.”

The project was designed and will be built utilizing extensive sound control measures to eliminate ambient city noise and will feature environmental graphics that will cost effectively enliven the interior spaces.

“What fills me with hope is imagining all of the brilliant thinking that’s going to happen here when it’s filled with scholars and teachers,” said Alma del Mar executive director Will Gardner. “Because it’s that brilliant thinking that – like the words of Douglass – will outlive our physical selves and even this physical building.”