Protected: Middletown Public Schools

DBVW Architects was hired by Middletown Public Schools in 2021 to conduct a comprehensive study of the district’s existing PK-12 facilities and to develop a plan to improve the educational buildings. The design team completed a RIDE Stage I application and was approved to continue into Stage II where several design options were presented to the town. With the projected cost ranging from $60 million to $184 million, RIDE encouraged the district to pursue a strategy of constructing new schools to replace the aging educational buildings, thus, the district solicited new qualifications for professional services in October 2022. HMFH Architects partnered with DBVW Architects for the new project and was successfully awarded the design contract in 2022. The project will create a new middle/high school for approximately 1,100 students in Grades 6-12. The new facility is 214,000 gsf in size and will be located at the existing middle school campus to reunite with the existing district athletic complex. It will include specialized spaces for career and technical education, and a shared auditorium and gymnasium. Work also includes consolidation of two elementary schools, the existing learning academy, and the district administration into the existing high school building. Phased capital work over three summers includes limited ADA and code improvements, MEP upgrades, restroom renovations, a new nurse’s suite, and a new fire suppression system throughout. Educational improvements include creating two new learning commons. The consolidation will allow for the closure of the existing Aquidneck Elementary School, creation of an early childhood center at Forest Avenue School for PK-1, and surplus of the Oliphant Administration Building.