Middletown hires HMFH/DBVW architects to design three state-of-the-art schools if voters sign off on Election Day. Experts say the team will deliver the schools Middletown wants -- and needs -- on time and on budget. #VoteNov8 #MiddletownRI
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Matt Sheley at (401) 842-6543 or msheley@middletownri.com
SCHOOL ARCHITECTS ON BOARD
MIDDLETOWN, R.I. (OCTOBER 20, 2022) – Middletown has an architect on board if school regionalization and the $235 million bond are approved on Election Day.
Looking to hit the ground running should the ambitious effort be okayed by Middletown and Newport voters, the Town Council selected HMFH/DBVW Architects earlier this week to design three new state-of-the-art buildings.
The Cambridge, Massachusetts group will be responsible for making sure all deadlines are met, most importantly the June 15, 2023 deadline to file a Stage II submission to the Rhode Island Department of Education (RIDE).
School Building Committee Co-Chairman Ed Brady said each of the six applicants were the subject of a detailed review and all involved picked HMFH/DBVW Architects as their top choice.
“We went through the interview process and clearly HMFH/DBVW came out the winner,” Brady said. “They gave our subgroup the confidence that they will deliver us our schools on time and on budget…HMFH has done 65 elementary schools and 54 middle and high schools. This is all they do. They design schools. They’re renown in New England and award winners nationally."
If the proposal fails because voters in Middletown reject Questions 4 or 5 or Newport turns back Question 5 on their ballot, Middletown will not be responsible for paying HMFH/DBVW anything.
However, with positive momentum building behind the joint effort, local leaders said it was important to make sure everything was lined up.
“You can just go down the road and see examples of their product at Thompson Middle School and Pell School (in Newport),” Brady said. “They take pride in doing a lot of work in communities that are doing what we’re doing, taking multiple elementary schools and creating one. When they came to us, they showed us how they think they can make this happen.”
DBVW served as the Stage 1 architects for the first phase of the effort. They teamed up with HMFH to bring the necessary resources to the table. Previously, DBVW performed a deep study into the status of the existing schools, saying at least $190 million in repairs were needed.
“I think one thing I noticed about the proposal and one thing that DBVW does is their buildings, they make certain the building fits the community and not make a statement as sometimes you see,” Brady said. “They’ll design and work with HMFH to give us the buildings (we want). They have educators, planners and so forth inside the team, which covers every aspect of the school from acoustics and engineering to educational planning, food service right down the line.”
Importantly as part of the bond, Brady said all the furniture, fixtures and technology required in each of the new schools was included in the $235 million bond at no extra cost.
Brady said HMFH/DBVW would be designing the new schools with all that in mind from Day 1, rather than retrofitting learning spaces.
Town Administrator Shawn J. Brown said educational planner Manuel Cordeiro was in the process of speaking with teachers and other stakeholders. Out of those conversations, Cordeiro will provide a building program to the architects about exactly what is needed in the three buildings. Cordeiro will also play an important role in the process as the school designs evolve.
“We want to quickly get moving forward with the work that’s necessary in order to get a contractor on board before December of 2023,” Brown said.
The idea of regionalization and the bond took off in March, when the state Department of Education said Newport and Middletown would be reimbursed 80.5 percent on any new school construction if they joined forces.
That news launched an aggressive plan from Middletown to build three new state-of-the-art schools — a new middle-high school with an auditorium next to the existing Gaudet Middle School as well as a combined elementary school and pre-kindergarten classrooms on the Valley Road property now home to Middletown High.
The goal was to replace each of the community’s aging schools, which average more than 60 years old for less money than placing “Band-Aids” on the existing buildings. Previously, RIDE has said it would not pay for “Band-Aid” fixes, only work that moves the educational environment forward in a meaningful way.
The way the financials work, RIDE would pay for 80.5 percent of the total cost of the school project, with local taxpayers on the hook for 19.5 percent. In real dollars, that means RIDE will pay $327 million for the three schools, with the town responsible for about $79 million.
At the end of the conversation, council President Paul M. Rodrigues thanked Brady and the School Building Committee for their efforts. Many of the members of the volunteer board were on hand in the audience.
“Ed, thank you,” Rodrigues said. “We appreciate your hard work and the committee. You guys have done a great job.”
To view a copy of a recent regionalization presentation, visit https://www.middletownri.com/DocumentCenter/View/5871/Regionalization online.
https://www.middletownri.com/DocumentCenter/View/5910/NYCU-Architects
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