GPS Capital Projects Update

The GPS Capital Projects Update is a newsletter issued periodically in order to provide updates on major projects to the Greenwich community across the District. On-going information is uploaded to the facilities projects page on the Greenwich Public Schools website on a regular basis.

The Board will be presented the financial report for the period ending on June 30, 2024 later this week. The overall general fund available capital balance, excluding building committees, is at $19.9M. Overall available capital balance, including building committee funds is $129.5M versus $135.1M reported last period.

A draft of the FY26 Capital Budget was presented to the Board on September 5, with additional capital budget planning on October 17 at the next regularly scheduled retreat. On October 24, an action item is expected to be on the agenda for the Board's next Business Meeting. As always, public comment is welcome at all Business Meetings.

The safety and security measures taken during the past few years have proven to be effective and gives our students and staff a continued sense of relief. Much work was done inside and outside of each school. Visitors must announce themselves before entering any of our buildings, buzzed in twice, and are not let inside without proper authorization. An example of recent work done to help secure areas came in the summer of 2023 when the first grade wing at North Mianus School was modified to ensure safety during times of crisis.

The GPS capital plan focuses primarily on the next five years for major projects. Another important discussion item is the secondary egress driveway which is a standalone project for the Greenwich High School campus. At one time, the driveway was part of a larger phase for Cardinal Field, but given the many needs of the district, the project is now focused solely on the second drive access for enhanced traffic mitigation, safety, and security.

Thank you!

Dr. Toni Jones, Superintendent of Schools

Western Middle School has reason to celebrate because it is on schedule to open its new beautiful turf fields this school year. A special thanks to all of our students, families, and staff in the district who advocated for this project and for all of the Town of Greenwich elected officials that heard them speak up. After seven long years, our middle schoolers on the west side of town, and so many community athletic organizations, finally have their home field back. We hope that our students will be running on the turf by early 2025!

For more information, including fact sheets, memos, public hearing videos, and Q&As, please head to the webpage dedicated to this project.

The new vestibule entryway at Greenwich High School opened on time for the start of 2024-2025 school year under a very tight schedule. Not only is the new entrance beautifully designed, but fully ADA accessible with strong safety features. A debt of gratitude is given to Steve Walko and the entire building committee, construction team, Board of Education, BET, RTM, and all of our elected officials that supported this great project.

Earlier this month, GHS hosted a grand ribbon cutting ceremony that celebrated the completion of this wonderful project.

For more information, including a fact sheet, committee meeting agendas and minutes, and a beautiful photo album from the ceremony, please head to the webpage decided to this project.

Consultants at Silver Petrucelli + Associates conducted a thorough assessment to identify the non-conforming accessibility barriers at our school buildings according to the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), supplying a full analysis considering all aspects of code compliance to create accessible spaces for all. This report is now a part of the capital planning process for FY26.

The study provides a cost analysis per school and in much greater detail about areas which could be prioritized by building to create an action plan for capital planning. The ADA Self Evaluation Transition Plan was created on August 19, 2024.

In the plan, each building evaluation has been organized into these four categories:

1. An accessible approach and entrance
2. Access to goods and services
3. Access to public toilets
4. Access to other items such as water fountains and public telephones

Narratives are used to describe the violations, along with photographs from the buildings and reference images selected from 2010 Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), 2017 ICC/ANSI A117.1 Accessible and Usable Buildings and Facilities or the Institute for Human Center Design ADA Checklist for Existing Facilities. The intent is to provide visuals of the violations and requirements needed. Lastly, a spreadsheet for each building itemizes each accessibility issue, a priority, a corrective action and an associated estimate.

For more information, including a recording of the Board of Education's Special Meeting from March, please head to the district's webpage dedicated to this project.

Greenwich High School, after more than a decade, is expected to have every field returned to our student athletes for play after a very long soil remediation project. The last field being worked on is for baseball, which is scheduled to open this spring.

For more information, including fact sheets and updates, head to the webpage dedicated to this project.

The Central Middle School Building Project is moving at lightning speed and construction is expected to start this time next year (or sooner)! Final construction preparation is taking place this school year.

During the summer months, the Board of Education held two Special Meetings with agenda items related to the Central Middle School building project:

• June 20, 2024: Authorized the Superintendent of Greenwich Public Schools and the Chair of the Greenwich Board of Education to certify the Greenwich Central Middle School–School Building Committee’s approval of final plans, project manual and the professional cost estimate for State Proj: 057-0114N, Central Middle School, Phase 1 of 3.
• August 1, 2024: Authorized the Superintendent of Greenwich Public Schools and the Chair of the Greenwich Board of Education to certify the Greenwich Central Middle School–School Building Committee’s approval of final plans, project manual and the professional cost estimate for State Proj: 057-0114N, Central Middle School, Phase 2 of 3.

For more information on all things Central Middle School, please head to the webpage dedicated to this project.

While plans move forward for a new building continues at a rapid pace, the current Central Middle School building remains safe and in serviceable condition, suitable for continued use as a school for students and staff. Regular inspections continue and wall monitors have been in place since February of 2022.

The process is underway for the feasibility and educational specification phase at Riverside School.

The original two-story building was built in 1932 with single story additions that include the gymnasium/auditorium, classrooms, and library built in 1950. Another single story eight classroom addition was completed in 1995.

Some of the key issues with this building, and should be included in the Ed Specs, include but are not limited to: lack of accessibility throughout, undersized cafeteria space, lack of program space, undersized main office suite, security, accessibility, and health and safety.

The Old Greenwich School Building Committee has been hard at work, committed to preserving the character of Old Greenwich School and ensuring the timely, cost-effective completion of necessary renovations. While not new construction or a complete renovation, the project will address the critical issues of security, health and safety, accessibility, and programming to meet baseline requirements for current and future generations. With a campus in a prominent location, they aim to ensure Old Greenwich School plays a vital role for the broader community for decades to come.

A "shovel in the ground" is expected next summer, preparing during the current school year.

For more information on all things Old Greenwich School construction, please head to the webpage dedicated to this project.

Upgrading to energy efficient lighting has been one focus of GPS' Facilities Department by contracting with an Eversource approved vendor to complete a lighting upgrade program at Julian Curtiss School and the Millbank Building for the Community Connections program. Both locations are now 100% converted. Glenville and Hamilton Avenue Schools will be upgraded in the summer of 2025.

Along with these impressive lighting upgrades, planning for a new entryway and elevator is underway.

The Millbank Building that houses the Community Connections program saw its second straight summer of renovations. Last year, American Rescue Plan (ARP) funds were used to add a micro-apartment set-up that promotes independent living skills. This summer, these efficient LED lights were added. Next summer, a new HVAC system will be added. This three-year approach has allowed GPS to work during the summer months without displacing our students and staff.

There is a need to provide reliable cellular service inside Greenwich High School. Due to the construction of the building, there is a complete lack of mobile phone service within the interior. This funding request is specifically to address this problem, which represents a safety issue for all staff and students that use the building. This project involves the build-out of a new interior antenna and amplification network with up-links to roof antennas which will provide carrier-agnostic cellular signals to mobile devices within the building.

The Request for Proposal process has been finalized and several bids have been received for the project. We are currently conducting interviews with the bidding vendors and anticipate selecting a preferred vendor within the next few weeks.

The District has made great strides in getting the HVAC systems current. The components that make up HVAC systems include fans, pumps, drives, chillers, valves, unit ventilators, variable air volume units, cooling tower, and these boilers pictured below that were recently installed at Greenwich High School.

The HVAC systems at all GPS building are regularly inspected and evaluated and replaced as needed.

An archive of past issues of the GPS Capital Projects Update newsletter can be found online.

You are encouraged to review the last issue from March 2024 to get a full picture of the amazing progress in less than a year on many of our projects.