DRA Celebrates Orchard Hill Elementary School’s Topping Off Ceremony

SOUTH WINDSOR, CT – Drummey Rosane Anderson (DRA), a multi-disciplinary planning, architectural, and interior design firm with a studio in South Windsor, recently participated in a topping off ceremony for the new Orchard Hill Elementary School.

The $26.4 million project is part of the district’s 10-year plan to update all the elementary school facilities in town. The 72,000-square-foot school is being constructed on the 83-acre campus of the old Orchard Hill School and Timothy Edwards Middle School.  The first students will be attending the new elementary school in the fall of 2017.

Attendees at the ceremony included project team members, school board officials, administration, town leaders, and students.  “The groundbreaking in February, the beam signing in June, and the topping-off ceremony in July have all been important milestones within Phase I of our 10-year plan,” stated school Superintendent Kathleen Carter recently in the Journal Inquirer. “I am heartened by our residents, community leaders and parents who have come together to work toward the common goal of investing in our children and our town’s future.”

The new elementary school will feature state of the art technology systems, security and energy-efficient heating and cooling systems. The site design utilizes a more streamlined traffic pattern with separate pickup and drop off areas for parents and buses. It will also meet accessibility requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act.

The project team includes Collier International – Project Management Northeast as the owner’s project manager (OPM); Gilbane Building Company as construction manager; Consulting Engineering Services (CES) as mechanical/electrical/plumbing engineer; Szewczak Associates as the structural engineer; Design Professionals Inc. as civil engineer; and Milone and MacBroom as the landscape and environmental consultant.

Scot Woodin, Project Manager with DRA remarked, “The topping off ceremony proved to be another significant milestone in this project that demonstrates this community’s support and enthusiasm for this project. The commitment of the Town of South Windsor to this project and to the educational program of the South Windsor Public Schools has made this project particularly rewarding for DRA.”