After a Common Council committee set the maximum contractor costs for the upcoming construction of the South Norwalk School and the new Norwalk High School, the Connecticut city is looking at a maximum combined cost for the projects of as much as $271.4 million.

Hartford's Newfield Construction, the contractor chosen to build the South Norwalk School, can charge the city no more than a committee-approved cost of $51.8 million.

Meanwhile, Gilbane, the global construction firm with an office in nearby Glastonbury, Conn., the new high school's builder, may not exceed $219.6 million for its project.

The Norwalk Hour reported Feb. 11 that Alan Lo, Norwalk's buildings and facilities manager, told the city's Common Council's Land Use and Building Management Committee that it did well with its guaranteed maximum prices.

"I think we have to recognize that [over] the last few years, the construction industry, especially school construction in Connecticut, has been very challenging as the prices go up and down," Lo said at the committee's Feb. 7 meeting.

He added that both projects are set to break ground in late February.

The South Norwalk School is slated to open for students in the 2025-26 school year, while the public school system anticipates Norwalk High School will welcome its first class in the 2027-28 fall semester.

South Norwalk School

The guaranteed maximum price to build the South Norwalk School takes up about 68 percent of the project's $76 million budget, the Hour noted.

The city will receive an 80 percent reimbursement from the State of Connecticut for the project, putting Norwalk's financial obligation for the new construction at $15.2 million.

Some parts of the two projects are ineligible for state reimbursement, Lo explained.

As an example, one of the big-ticket items at South Norwalk for which the city is on the hook will be traffic improvements.

Last September, the Common Council approved a $2 million special appropriations request for flood and road improvements surrounding the upcoming school at 1 Meadow St. Extension. The funds were pulled from the free balances of the Jefferson and Ponus Ridge schools.

The council also approved $2.9 million for the acquisition of six nearby properties on which the new South Norwalk School will expand: four along Oxford Street, one at 16 Meadow St. Extension, and a 1.13-acre parcel next to the proposed building site.

Norwalk High School

The guaranteed maximum price for the new Norwalk High School takes up the vast majority of the project's $239 million budget at about 92 percent.

Like the South Norwalk School, this project also will receive 80 percent reimbursement from the state, with the city responsible for $47.8 million. The high school's turf and concessions will not be eligible for state reimbursement, Lo added.

The new facility will be constructed on the site of the current Testa Field Complex. A new athletic facility will replace the existing school, which will be demolished after the new one is built, according to the project's website. As a result, Lo said, "many athletic programs will be displaced during construction from 2024 through 2027."

Because of the disruptions, students will be bused to athletic practices and competitions at other locations across the city that would previously have been held at Norwalk High, including those at Nathan Hale Middle, West Rocks Middle, Cranbury Elementary, Brien McMahon High School and Oak Hills Park.

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