Chicopee Comprehensive, a $75 million, 325,000-square-foot high school for 1,300 students, epitomizes the advantages of building with Fontaine Bros. Schools are no longer just classrooms; they are high-tech, state-of-the-art facilities designed to educate students in a wide variety of technological fields.
The school consists of both career and technical-education facilities. It includes spaces for automotive technology, computer-aided drafting and manufacturing, carpentry, electronics, electrical, culinary arts, landscape and horticulture studies, machine technology, and metal fabrication and welding, as well as a state-of-the-art telecommunications center.
The construction phase also included significant demolition work, including the existing athletic fields and grandstand. Further, the project required the demolition of the existing school structure, lowering the grade an average of 12 feet.
Before construction could begin, we had to install more than 2,500 geo piers for foundation stabilization. Then we started the construction of the five component buildings (including auditorium, gymnasium, natatorium, technical shops, and academics). The construction of the new outdoor athletic complex consisted of a synthetic running track, synthetic football field, and softball diamond.
Fontaine Bros. managed, coordinated, and scheduled more than 60 subcontractors and vendors, which resulted in the auditorium, gymnasium, natatorium, and technical shops being completed three months ahead of schedule. This early completion allowed the school to utilize these areas one semester sooner. The completion of the academic areas was also finished on time, allowing the school to coordinate the move for the winter semester.
