A rendering released in April shows the new Agawam High School.
Reminder Publishing file photo
AGAWAM — A few weeks after the official groundbreaking ceremony, Agawam Mayor Christopher Johnson said the Agawam High School project is still on time and on budget.
At a June 24 School Committee meeting, Johnson shared that Phase 1 — the community wing portion of the project — is in full force right now.
According to Johnson, the topsoil has been stripped on the property, 95% of the utility relocation has been completed and the geothermal contractor has been mobilized. He said that the geothermal well drilling will happen opposite the baseball field during the summer, as will foundation excavations and the laying of concrete foundations.
He also told the committee that the town has completed early bid packaging to “get parts of the project out on the street.”
“The buildings will start to come up out of the ground early fall,” Johnson said.
After receiving comments from the Massachusetts School Building Authority about 60% design plans, the town is currently working on submitting the final construction plans to MSBA sometime in late July.
Once those documents are approved, Johnson said the hope is that the construction portion of Phase 1 will go out to bid in August with hopes of awarding a bidder by mid-September.
“The hope is that the steel structure on the building will be completed by late fall into early winter,” Johnson said. “At that point, [there will be a] topping off ceremony and then they’ll enclose and build the community wing portion of the project.”
According to the Agawam High School building project page, Phase 1 of the project — which also includes the construction of associated parking — is expected to be completed by December 2026.
After that, the town will embark on construction of the academic wing and associated parking as part of Phase 2 — which is scheduled to happen between January 2026 and June 2028.
Phase 3 of the project — from June 2028 to December 2028 — includes the demolition of the existing building, completion of athletic fields and consummation of the full project.
When finished, the new high school will be the town’s first newly constructed school in 50 years.
“We’re trying to build a state-of-the-art, modern, fully geothermal-served building that will have heating and air conditioning year-round,” Johnson said in March at the West of the River Chamber of Commerce mayoral breakfast.
The new school, which will be 211,000 square feet, is projected to cost around $230 million. Johnson shared at the breakfast that taxes will increase in Agawam, but that was to be expected after voters overwhelmingly approved a debt exclusion override for the project last year.
More updates on the project can be found on its website: agawamhsproject.com.
