Construction for new Brunswick High School remains on schedule

BRUNSWICK — Building construction for the new Brunswick High School is still on track to be complete by Memorial Day 2027, according to the construction manager at risk for the project. ThenDesign Architecture and Hammond Construction provided a construction update for the district's master facilities plan during the Brunswick Board of Education meeting on Tuesday. Derrick Semilia from Hammond Construction said the project is on schedule. In the last four and a half months, 255,000 masonry blocks have been laid, and there are another 168,000 left to go. "The total volume of concrete is just shy of 5,800 cubic yards, and we're about 20 percent complete," he said. "We got a lot of concrete yet to pour." Areas like the main competition gym, art wing, multipurpose room and weight room are already under roof, Semilia said. Getting certain parts of the building under roof by winter is "paramount." "The back end here is our main mechanical room, and that's the heartbeat for the building," he said. "We have to complete that space so that we can get our temporary heat and temporary electric that we need through the winter." Construction cannot stop for winter weather to finish a 300,000-square-foot building in 24 months, Semilia said. As a result, the new high school was designed so that the weather-dependent masonry walls will be complete before winter comes. "Steelwork will go through the winter as well as exterior structural framing and sheeting," he said. When winter is over, the focus will be on getting other parts of the building enclosed, Semilia said. There are also 300,000 bricks that need to be laid for the exterior façade. "As we come into the spring weather, and it's more conducive for the masonry operation to continue, we'll focus on the auditorium as well as the brick veneers," he said. "This time next year, it's going to look like the building's nearly complete from the outside." Construction of the building is estimated to be complete by Memorial Day 2027, but site work will continue, Semilia said. Abatement and demolition will then begin on the current Brunswick High School. Work is also being done to complete other parts of the master facilities plan. Semilia said the maintenance building should soon get a certificate of occupancy, and the board of education building should be complete by the end of the first quarter of 2026. The construction projects are funded by a $102 million bond issue that passed in May 2023. To learn more about construction within the district, visit tinyurl.com/2xandkn4. Contact reporter Madisyn Woodring at (330) 721-4049 or mwoodring@medina-gazette.com.