Skip to main content
Add as a preferred source on Google

NH CTE Center Gets 25 million Makeover

  • By Dian Schaffhauser
  • 08/12/19

Officials recently broke ground on a technical school rebuild in Hudson, NH. The Wilbur H. Palmer Career and Technical Education Center, based in Alvirne High School, offers 17 programs of study. Students bus in from 15 other high schools to take part in programs on computer science, digital media, health science and technology and pre-engineering, among others. The center also runs several businesses that are open to the school community, including a convenience store, a restaurant, a preschool and a greenhouse and flower shop.

The new center will include 38,000 square feet of new construction as a first phase. Subsequent phases will encompass interior renovations covering 47,000 square feet.

Among the new additions, according to local reporting, will be a media studio, automated manufacturing and metal fabrication facilities, expansions to computer science and health science programs, and a culinary arts program that’s integrated with the finance and marketing programs.

The project is estimated to cost $25 million, with $8.2 million coming from local tax sources and $17 million from the state. However, material cost escalation and a labor shortage that cropped up when new building starts escalated in the state have led to construction delays and budget overruns. Right now, the project faces a possible $2.5 million shortage in state funding. However, the district said it hopes to resolve the funding shortfall over the next 18 months.

The center is named after the late Wilbur Palmer, who as vocational director at the high school spent two decades promoting the idea of constructing a dedicated vocational center. That finally received state funding in 1991 and opened in 1992.

The school is being built by Harvey Construction in Bedford and designed by Lavallee Brensinger in Manchester.

About the Author

Dian Schaffhauser is a former senior contributing editor for 1105 Media's education publications THE Journal, Campus Technology and Spaces4Learning.

Featured

  • Stanford Completes Construction on Graduate School of Education Facility

    Stanford University in Stanford, Calif., recently announced the end of construction on a new home for its Graduate School of Education, according to a news release. The university partnered with McCarthy Building Companies on the 160,000-square-foot project, which involved two major renovations and one new construction effort.

  • Kimball International Releases Curated Design Support Program

    Commercial furnishings company Kimball International recently announced the launch of a new end-to-end design support program, DesignSuite. According to a news release, its goal is to guide architecture & design professionals and dealer partners through the process from vision to specification.

  • Indiana Wesleyan University Schedules Grand Opening for New Welcome Center

    Indiana Wesleyan University recently announced that it will soon open a new Welcome Center on its campus in Marion, Ind., according to a news release. The facility will serve as the home base for prospective students and their families to learn more about the university and student life there. A ribbon-cutting ceremony is scheduled for February 19.

  • Spaces4Learning Trends & Predictions for Educational Facilities in 2026: Part I

    We asked, you answered, and the results are in! Last year, we put out a call for submissions to collect our readership’s opinion on trends and predictions for K–12 and higher education facilities in 2026.