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Board reviews new high school renderings and sets construction timeline
Summary
At an April 16 meeting, district staff presented animated renderings and a phased schedule for Bedford High School: K'2 and grades 6'8 expected for fall 2027; the new high school move-in is planned for fall 2028, with campus parking work continuing into 2029.
Russell, the presenter for the district's design team, showed animated renderings and still images of the planned Bedford High School campus and outlined a multi-year construction schedule.
Russell said the project documents will be sent to contractors for bidding in May and a Guaranteed Maximum Price (GMP) from Panzica will be presented to the board in early June. He said demolition of the Board of Education building, the North House and the vocational wing is set to begin in about two weeks and will continue into the summer, timed where possible to limit disruption to students.
District staff described the current construction status of the K'2 and the new grades 6'8 school as roughly 50% complete and said both buildings should be ready for the start of school in fall 2027. The district plans for students to move into the new high school in fall 2028; once the high school is occupied, the district will demolish the central and south houses and construct new parking, a process expected to continue into 2029.
Renderings shown to the board depicted a two'story academic wing adjacent to Northfield Road, a 560'seat auditorium for district use and a main gym with approximately 1,050 bleacher seats. The presentation also noted plans to repurpose elements from the existing gym floor, reuse district scoreboards purchased in 2020, and include dedicated spaces for career technical programs such as cosmetology and culinary arts, the latter designed as a café open to the public during specified hours.
Russell said the design emphasizes natural light, visual connections at the main entry and compartmentalized learning zones to support safety and security. The board asked for confirmation of the schedule and thanked Russell for the update; the board will review the GMP from Panzica when it is presented.
The next major milestones, as stated in the presentation, are: bid solicitation in May, GMP presentation in early June, K'2 and 6'8 occupancy in fall 2027 and high school move'in in fall 2028, with final campus parking completed by 2029.
The board did not take a policy vote on the project during the presentation; further financial approvals were noted as upcoming items.
