Superintendent Justin Bartholomew and the Pentucket Regional School District are pleased to share the following update on construction of the new middle/high school building.

Construction is currently about 70% complete, meeting the schedule to open the building for the start of the 2022-2023 school year.

The new school, a 211,700-square-foot facility, will house about 970 students when it opens.

The new combined building replaces the current middle school, which opened in 1967, and the high school, which opened in 1958. The two current building have outlived their useful existence and restrict the District’s ability to educate students to their full potential.

A two-story wing will house students in Grades 7 and 8, while a separate three-story wing will house students in Grades 9 through 12. The two wings will be joined by a large foyer and dining commons.

A centerpiece of the new school will be the 600-seat Performing Arts Center, which will support the District’s signature arts and music programs and serve as a gathering place for community programs and activities.

“This will be such a beautiful facility,” Superintendent Bartholomew said. “There is nothing like this in the area.”

The building also will include a drama studio to allow for smaller group work and performances.

Individual classrooms are designed to be flexible and maximize interdisciplinary learning opportunities. For example, some class spaces are split by dividers, which can be removed to allow classes to work together.

“In our buildings now you may have 25 of the same desks,” said High School Principal Jonathan Seymour. “Every classroom now will have a variety of furniture.”

Pentucket Regional High School’s curriculum places a large emphasis on movement science and athletics, so several class areas are devoted to that discipline. For example, a kinesiology lab will be used for education during the day, and double as a weight room and training area for student-athletes later in the day.

The new school is tracking toward LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Gold designation. A state-of-the-art HVAC system and solar roof panels will reduce the building’s energy footprint and lower carbon emissions. It is estimated these measures will save $2 million in energy costs during the next 20 years.

Hallways contain expanded learning areas, allowing students to work on group projects or for teachers to lead small group or tutoring sessions.

Both existing buildings will be demolished. Those areas will be used to create athletic fields and parking.

The new school was designed by Dore and Whittier, with Vertex serving as owner’s project manager, and W.T. Rich serving as construction manager.

“It is exciting to see this vision take shape. The entire design and construction team took a personal interest in this project’s success, and it shows,” Superintendent Bartholomew said. “I also want to thank the School Building Committee for its dedication and hard work, and our school community and our three sending towns for their incredible support. I can’t wait for everyone to see this school when it opens.”

WEST NEWBURY — Superintendent Justin Bartholomew is pleased to announce that construction for the Pentucket Regional Middle-High School building is set to begin this spring.

The project remains on schedule and on budget, and the district is working in partnership with the facility’s designer Dore and Whittier, project manager Vertex, construction manager WT Rich and the Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA) to finalize construction documents. The district also continues to work with the West Newbury Planning Committee, West Newbury Conservation Committee and Groveland Conservation Committee to obtain necessary permits for the project, as well as local building inspectors and the Groveland and West Newbury water departments. 

“Since the project was approved by residents in the spring, the district has been working tirelessly with our partners to solidify the plans for the building, continuously evaluate the cost and so on,” Superintendent Bartholomew said. “We are on budget, and on schedule. Students, faculty and staff are going to start seeing progress on the project this spring and summer, and we look forward to this exciting new chapter for our district.”

The district expects to begin the construction of a temporary parking lot on the lawn by Main Street in front of the current Pentucket High School building late this March or in April, depending on weather conditions. The current parking lot will be used as a construction zone throughout the building process.

Students, faculty and staff will use the temporary parking lot until the new building is complete and a permanent lot is constructed where the current high school building now stands. 

The district will also begin installing temporary perimeter fencing in the area behind the current Pentucket High School building in late March or April, where the new building will be built.

The new Pentucket Regional Middle-High School building is expected to take approximately two years to construct, and is anticipated to be completed in spring 2022. The district estimates that the current high school and middle school buildings will be demolished in the summer of 2022, and construction for a permanent parking lot will begin in fall 2022. 

The temporary parking lot will be removed during the 2022-2023 school year, and athletic fields will be built in its place, likely during the same school year.

Approved by Groveland, Merrimac and West Newbury residents at Town Meetings and through ballot votes in spring 2019, the project will cost $146.3 million. Throughout the construction process, project cost estimates will continue to be performed to ensure the project remains within its budget. 

The district will continue to provide updates about the project as information becomes available. For more information, visit pentucketproject.com.

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