Renovating a School Over the Summer: How We Build Between Semesters in New York

For an independent or early-childhood school, the construction window is fixed: students leave in June and the building has to be ready, cleaned and inspected before faculty return in late August. Eurostruct has renovated and expanded schools across Manhattan and Brooklyn, including Dalton, Berkeley Carroll, Packer, Rodeph Sholom School, St. Hilda’s & St. Hugh’s and the Montessori School in Brooklyn Heights. This is how we plan a summer project, written for heads of facilities, owner’s representatives and architects.

A summer build starts in the fall

Ten weeks of construction depend on the six to nine months before them. By winter we want:

• a budget confirmed against design development drawings;
• long-lead equipment ordered, such as chillers, air handlers, windows, elevators and specialty fixtures;
• permits filed and neighbors notified;
• a day-by-day schedule for the summer, with the critical path marked;
• subcontractors committed to the dates, not just to the price.

This is where preconstruction pays for itself. Many schools choose construction manager at risk so that we can buy equipment and start early work before the drawings are finished.

What a summer can hold

At St. Hilda’s & St. Hugh’s School on the Upper West Side, 21,000 square feet on three floors was demolished to shell and rebuilt as 40 rooms: classrooms, bathrooms and offices with custom wood cabinetry, mini kitchens, lockers, cubbies, smart boards and controlled lighting. A new chiller and building management system now let each room be adjusted individually. On the roof, 4,200 square feet of playground was rebuilt with a snow-melt system, a green wall, stainless steel fencing, an ironwood deck, a glass wall and 25-foot trees. All of it was done in 12 weeks, six days a week, 12 hours a day.

Phasing when one summer isn’t enough

Larger projects are split so that each phase finishes before school starts. At the Montessori School, a former firehouse was connected to the main building. The first phase converted the firehouse, with underpinning, new columns, beams, slabs and a stair; the second renovated three floors of the existing school during the summer break. At Rodeph Sholom School, a new building, a renovated lobby and rooftop play enclosures were delivered on time and within budget, in close coordination with the school’s administration, faculty and students.

Working in occupied and landmarked buildings

Work often continues into the school year. It helps that we are used to:

• phasing work in buildings that cannot close, with protected routes for students and staff and dust control;
• night, weekend and academic-calendar work windows for noisy work;
• coordinating deliveries around drop-off and pickup on constrained Manhattan and Brooklyn streets;
• keeping neighbors, parents and the board informed;
• keeping historic fabric intact. At Packer the building behind a landmarked façade was structurally replaced and every mechanical system renewed while the façade stayed in place.

Built-ins and play spaces, made in-house

School projects are full of millwork and metalwork: classroom and library casework, cubbies, lockers, stairs and railings. We build much of it in our own millwork and steel shops in Greenpoint. That shortens lead times, the item most likely to threaten a summer schedule.

Planning for next summer

If your school is thinking about next summer, the time to start is now. Send us the current drawings or even a scope description, and we will come back with a budget range, the long-lead list and a realistic schedule. See our educational projects or get in touch.