With students out enjoying their summer vacation, the Kingswood Regional School campus is undergoing a transformation. North Branch Construction is coordinating over 200 construction workers daily on-site to complete renovations in the three schools on a fast-track summer schedule. The aerial view of the campus shows the new multi-purpose building and athletic fields (phase I completed last fall) with phase II (additions/renovations of the 3 schools) well underway. The high school is undergoing a gut demolition, including asbestos abatement as well as gym and locker room renovations. Selective demolition will also occur in the middle school and vocational school, along with gym, locker room, and kitchen renovations in the middle school.
Phase I of the project, which began in November 2009, included construction of a new 51,000 s/f multi-purpose building which features a 900 seat auditorium, classrooms and locker rooms. The project also included new synthetic and natural turf athletic fields as well as a Geothermal Ground Heat Exchanger (GHE) piping system to serve the entire campus. 320 wells were drilled 400 feet deep for the GHE system, which is believed to be the largest geothermal system in the state. Major underground site utility reconstruction, bringing the geothermal system to all three schools was also completed as part of phase I. The new football field (including bleachers and press box) was completed several months ahead of schedule, which allowed the school to play last fall's games on their new field instead of renting fields for the season.
Phase II of the project began in June 2010. This 2+ year project includes 90,000 s/f of additions on the three schools - middle school, high school and vocational school. All three schools will be re-roofed and renovated. In May, the first building completed as part of phase 2 was turned over to the school system. This included the new automotive and agricultural building serving students enrolled in the agri-science and automotive service technology programs offered by the vocational school. This was the first of 25 areas to be finished as part of phase 2 of the extensive high school, middle school, and vocational school construction project. A considerable amount of the work is expected to take place this summer while students are off campus including asbestos abatement, replacing electric service, and installing geothermal cooling and heating (wells drilled and piped to schools as part of phase I) to all three schools. Students will return to classes this fall and construction will continue throughout the school year. North Branch and town officials, along with CMK Architects will continue to work together to creatively schedule building occupancy, while maintaining student safety as their first priority. Detailed coordination between the Governor Wentworth Regional School District (GWRSD), the three Kingswood Regional School principals, North Branch Const. and CMK Architects each week has been vital in relocating students and furnishings to accommodate both a busy construction schedule and the occupied school campus. Phase II will be completed in the fall of 2012.
This project is being built to meet the energy efficiency and environmental standards of the Northeast Collaborative for High Performance Schools (NECHPS State Funding for School Construction). GWRSD serves the communities of Brookfield, Effingham, New Durham, Ossipee, Tuftonboro, and Wolfeboro. CMK Archts. is providing architectural design and North Branch Const. is the construction manager.