Project of the Month: North Branch Construction completes Phase 2 of Kingswood Regional school projects 4 months ahead of schedule

North Branch Construction has completed Phase 2 of construction for the Governor Wentworth Regional School District (GWRSD). The $43 million additions and renovations to the Kingswood Regional High School, Middle School, and Technical Center was completed 4 months ahead of construction schedule, despite the challenges of working on an occupied school campus. This project has been called the "most complicated public school project in the history of the state" by the GWRSD superintendent John Robertson. North Branch was already on site for Phase 1, building a new multi-purpose building, along with new synthetic and natural turf athletic fields as well as a Geothermal Ground Heat Exchanger (GHE) piping system to serve the entire campus, and was subsequently awarded the construction management contract for Phase 2. 320 wells were drilled 400 feet deep for a GHE system (believed to be largest geothermal system in the state). The multi-purpose building included a 900 seat auditorium with classrooms and locker rooms. The $18.2 million Phase I construction was completed in November 2010 and won an Award of Merit for Excellence in Construction in the Institutional Over $10 Million category at the 2011 Associated Builders and Contractors NH/VT Chapter - Excellence in Construction Awards. This project was built to meet the energy efficiency and environmental standards of the Northeast Collaborative for High Performance Schools (NECHPS State Funding for School Construction). Phase 2 of the construction began in June 2010 and included major underground site utility reconstruction bringing the geothermal system (wells drilled in Phase 1) to all three schools. Construction continued throughout the school year with over 300 construction workers on site daily when students left for the school vacations. The high school and middle school schedules were fast-tracked in order to be ready for the 2011 fall semester. This two-year project included 90,000 s/f of additions and nearly 270,000 s/f of renovations to the middle school, high school and technical center. All three schools were re-roofed and renovated. The high school underwent a total gut renovation, including asbestos abatement. The middle and high schools' exterior facades were replaced, upgrading the thermal envelopes. The GWRSD serves the communities of Brookfield, Effingham, New Durham, Ossipee, Tuftonboro, and Wolfeboro. CMK Architects were the architects for both phases of the project.