The beam was covered in signatures — of construction workers, school officials, members of the building committee and, most importantly, the students that one day will look upon it from within their school.
Their school. The future Concord Middle School. A work in progress, a skeleton that, save for that one piece, was finally complete.
On December 8, that final beam was hoisted into place in the traditional “topping off” ceremony, a builders’ rite marking the completion of a building’s structure. The school district eschewed the traditional tree, but an American flag flapped in the breeze from the beam as it was hoisted into the air.
It was only months ago that the site, beside the Sanborn School, was a wide-open field ready for a groundbreaking, Superintendent of School Dr. Laurie Hunter noted.
“We are excited to celebrate this milestone and we have so many people to thank for getting the project to this point,” she said. “On behalf of the Concord Public School District, I want to thank the residents of Concord for their on-going support of our schools, the Select Board, Town Manager Lefleur, the Town Departments, the School Committee, and the project team including architects from SMMA, the project managers at Hill International, and CTA the General Contractor. And I also want to thank all the middle school students, teachers, and staff for participating in the project process, and we appreciate their patience during construction.”
The nearly $110 million building faced delays and cost increases caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, prompting debt exclusion votes at two separate town meetings. It will replace two buildings, the Sanborn and Peabody Schools, and is scheduled to open to students after February break in 2025.
The ceremony featured students from the Middle School Building Committee and the national anthem was performed by the Concord Middle School Student Orchestra.
“In addition to those thanked by Dr. Hunter, I want to thank the members of the Concord Middle School Building Committee who have been meeting for the past several years to help advance the project to this milestone,” said Pat Nelson, co-chair of the Concord Middle School Building Committee. “We look forward to continued progress and eventually opening this state-of-the-art educational facility and resource for the Town of Concord.”
Substantial completion is scheduled for December 2024. Demolition of the existing Sanborn Building and installation of new fields will follow, with work expected to be complete by September 2025.
