Pawtucket Elementary School Celebrates Topping Out Ceremony

Officials gathered recently to celebrate the topping out of a new STEAM elementary school in Pawtucket, R.I. Representatives from the Pawtucket School District, the State of Rhode Island and the City of Pawtucket joined those from Colliers Project Leaders, the SLAM Collaborative and Gilbane Building Company to commemorate the milestone of the 93,694-square-foot Henry J. Winters Elementary School.

During the ceremony, the last beam was laid across the top of the building. The three-story facility will have space for 643 students between pre-kindergarten and fifth grade. The district partnered with the SLAM Collaborative for design and Gilbane Building Company for construction. The project had a budget of $50 million.

“In delivering this project, we’ve not only focused on client satisfaction, sustainability, safety and innovation, but also diversity and community engagement,” said Steve Duvel, Gilbane senior vice president and New England division leader, in a press release. “As we celebrate this milestone and look toward the future of the project, we further our commitment to Pawtucket, the state of Rhode Island and the generations of students who will call this building home.”

Upgrades from the previous facility will include a student drop-off area designed for optimal traffic flow, increased security measures and energy-efficient HVAC systems.

“We know that our students deserve the best educational experience we can give them, and we must maintain our commitment to them, their teachers and the school department to further opportunities and engage in education through better schools and classrooms,” said Pawtucket Mayor Donald Grebien in June 2021.

Funding for the school came as part of a $220-million bond package that Pawtucket voters approved in 2018 to complete upgrades across the city’s 17 schools. The former Winters Elementary facility was demolished this past summer, and the new facility is scheduled for completion by summer 2022.

About the Author

Matt Jones is senior editor of Spaces4Learning. He can be reached at [email protected].

Featured

  • Enjoy Tax and Energy Savings with the Right Ceiling Solutions

    Thanks to recent innovations pairing mineral fiber ceiling panels with phase change material technology (PCM), architects, designers, facility managers, and other key players in construction and renovation projects are re-thinking the role ceilings play in supporting environmental objectives—especially energy savings.

  • New Campus Stadiums Evolve Beyond Sports into Community Assets

    New campus planning documents reveal an abundance of high interest in new stadiums, or renovations and repurposing projects for existing facilities. Many universities, in fact, are developing campus complexes with new stadiums as a draw for retail, hotels, and student housing. Multipurpose facilities with high-end features are being designed to attract large sports events of various types, concerts, and other university functions.

  • Gretna East High School

    Gretna East High School

    Established in 1999, the Education Design Showcase is a vehicle for showing off innovative — yet practical — solutions in planning, design, architecture, and construction. Gretna East High School has been recognized with an EDS 2025 Project of Distinction award in the category of New Construction.

  • Kimball Showroom Earns WELL Certified Platinum Distinction

    Commercial furnishings company Kimball International recently announced that its showroom in New York City has achieved WELL Certification at the Platinum level as dictated by the International WELL Building Institute, according to a news release. The certification demonstrates a continuing commitment to creating environments that promote health, well-being, and productivity.

Digital Edition