Groundbreaking Ceremony Held for New Wilmington High School

Town, school, and state officials spoke of the importance of building the new school during a ceremony on Town Common Thursday afternoon.

It's been a trying time for the Wilmington community, with thousands of residents packing Town Common on Saturday to grieve the loss of MIT Police Officer Sean Collier. While Collier's memory was still fresh in the minds of state and town officials on Thursday, there was a lighter feeling in the air during a different kind of gathering on Town Common. "From loss and from tragedy and from grief comes optimism and hope," said Massachusetts State Treasurer Steve Grossman during the groundbreaking ceremony for the new high school. "And nothing gives us more hope than to know that to my left a new school will go up and we will celebrate every single day the values of the people of Wilmington." Though appeals have delayed construction …

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Groundbreaking Ceremony Scheduled For New High School Project

State dignitaries will join residents and local officials at ceremony.

Question: When will the groundbreaking ceremony take place for the new high school? Answer: After numerous delays and appeals, which saw the project pushed back a year, the official groundbreaking ceremony for the new Wilmington High School has been scheduled for Thursday, April 25, at noon. The event will begin with a ceremony on the Town Common before attendees walk over to the site of the construction project on Church Street for the actual groundbreaking. Members of the Wilmington Legislative delegation, along with representatives from the state's School Building Authority are expected to attend the event, along with local officials, members of the Wilmington education community and town residents. School Committee Vice Chair Robert …

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Construction Officially Underway at High School

Demolition at the Wilmington HIgh School gym began this week, and things were particularly busy on Wednesday.

After years of discussion, there is finally evidence that a new high school will be built on Church Street. Demolition of the Wilmington High School gymnasium began this week with students gone for February vacation, and on Wednesday the building began to come down brick by brick. For interested residents, pieces of the basketball court will be sold individually, with proceeds going to pay for the September 11 memorial that will be built at the new school.

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Steven McGinley

10:09 pm on Thursday, February 28, 2013

Already it's a joke as far as I'm concerned. For months I was driving by the old Polaroid site in Waltham where they took a building 20 times the size of that gym, tore it down, had it sorted and hauled away in 2 weeks. After a week but we still have piles of debris.   more ›

Bids Unsealed for Parts of High School Project

Town Manager Jeff Hull said it's too early to categorize whether the town will opt to use the winning bids.

Town officials unsealed bids for the high school project late last week, though it will likely take several weeks of research before they decide whether or not to accept the winning bids for portions of construction work on the school. Wilmington Town Manager Jeff Hull unsealed bids following the deadline to submit on Thursday. Hull said the qualifications of winning bidders are being reviewed before any decisions can be made. “The early read here is that there were certain categories where the bids came in significantly higher than anticipated,” said Hull. “Others came in more in line with what we anticipated, in some cases a little lower. Generally speaking it’s a mixed bag and (the town’s consultants) need to go through the numbers and …

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Despite Delays, Some Movement Coming in High School Project

The town can unseal trade construction bids on Thursday, and is preparing to move forward with demolition plans.

After more than a year in limbo, things are starting to heat up for the Wilmington High School project. While the appeal of abutter Gerry O’Reilly remains at the Superior Court level, there are several upcoming milestones for the project. Thursday is the date that the town will be able to unseal bids for trade construction. If the town is satisfied with the winning bids, it can plan on moving forward and accepting them. When the town opens the bids, they will know whether or not their projections for the cost increases associated with the appeals over the last year were accurate. In addition, the deadline recently passed for the town to file its response to O’Reilly’s claim. Board of Selectmen chairman Mike Newhouse said that while there …

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Town Estimates School Appeals Cost $1.75 Million to Date

The Board of Selectmen opted to move forward with the bid process on January 24 following a vote on Monday night.

For the first time during the appeals process, the Board of Selectmen quantified the impact of the appeals process. Selectmen discussed at Monday’s meeting whether or not to go forward with the bid process for work on the high school despite the school currently before Superior Court. Chairman Mike Newhouse said that when trade bids are unsealed after they come in by January 24, the town is estimating there will be an additional $1,755,000 that is attributed to the appeals. He added that the last six months will prove to be especially costly, counting for about $1,060,000 alone and the numbers will continue to climb the longer the town waits. “In round numbers, we are expecting that if we put off the work that we contemplate, it’s likely …

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Student X

3:38 pm on Wednesday, January 16, 2013

Even if they've allowed taxpayers to be gouged out of hundreds of thousands, you've gouged taxpayers out of millions, Mr. MacDonald. Just saying.   more ›

Town Officials Prepare to Move Forward With Gym Demolition

Town and school officials discuss the decision to begin work at the school, and what impact it'll have.

Though the appeal of the high school project remains at Superior Court, Wilmington officials are preparing for a major first step towards making the project a reality as Superintendent of Schools Joanne Benton announced Wednesday the gymnasium will be demolished in February. Board of Selectmen chairman Mike Newhouse said he and his fellow selectmen will discuss the gym demolition in executive session during Monday’s meeting. Once regular business begins, members will then hold a public discussion and a vote that would mean the town is officially going forward with the demolition. “The ultimate goal is to deliver what the residents have appropriated the money for and have supported,” said Newhouse. “And that’s to have a completed state of …

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High School Gymnasium to be Demolished in February

The decision to take down the gym despite the pending appeal was announced at Wednesday's School Committee meeting and will serve as the first true construction at the site.

Superintendent of Schools Joanne Benton announced during Wednesday’s School Committee meeting that the Wilmington High School gymnasium will be demolished over February vacation. Though the high school project is currently being appealed to Superior Court, it was previously ruled that the Activities and Use Limitation (AUL) was not allowed as part of the appeal, leaving the door open for the town to begin work on at least part of the project. February vacation is slated to begin on Monday, February 20. On February 11, Benton said fencing will be put up in the area. As a result, an alternate parking plan will be put into place. To date, 90 seniors applied for and received parking stickers. There is also room for about 80 additional student …

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Steven McGinley

4:16 pm on Wednesday, January 16, 2013

Let's hope the judge is on the saintly side of impartial. Being that presumptive might irritate some. Good luck to us all. I've been wondering too, does the delay in the project mean a delay in our taxes going up?   more ›

New High School Remains in Holding Pattern

The town prepares its response to the Superior Court appeal while deciding what to do about contracts in upcoming weeks.

More than a month after the town received its summons to Superior Court, officials are preparing for the next steps in the process than has delayed construction of a new high school for just over a year so far. According to Town Manager Jeff Hull, the town is working on its response to the complaint filed by abutter Gerry O’Reilly in late November. Originally the town was faced with an earlier deadline for that step, but for various reasons they asked for and received an extension to January 16. Hull said the response, which will be filed jointly by the town and the Attorney General’s office on behalf of the Department of Environmental Protection, tries to make the case as to why the groups do not believe there is merit to O’Reilly’s claim…

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Town Calls Latest High School Appeal 'Without Merit'

In a statement, officials said they remain confident that the latest, and final, appeal will be ruled in the town's favor.

Editor's Note: The following is the official statement from the town about the Wilmington High School project, which was officially taken to court late last week. The town was served to Superior Court, and is currently looking into whether abutter Gerry O'Reilly and his attorney filed by November 21 deadline. To find all of Patch's coverage on the high school appeals in one place, visit our link to the new high school topic page. Here is the town's official statement: "Mr. O’Reilly has filed an appeal to Superior Court relative to the Final Order of Conditions issued by DEP. The Town is reviewing the complaint with counsel, and we will continue to do everything within our power to move the construction of the new high school forward, and …

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Steven McGinley

11:13 pm on Wednesday, December 26, 2012

The United States of America was conceived by two or a few people getting together in a tavern in Boston and talking about what would be an uphill battle Taylor, apples and oranges. Not even close. This is the reason we have courts. And they haven't lost 3 times this is their 3rd. The town agreed overwhelmingly that we need a new high school, it's our town leaders that have failed us and take us …   more ›