Four Schools Race to Retrofit

Workers removed the driveways and parking areas at four Danbury schools to make way for are new entrances and drop-off areas before school resumes in late August. That's when the real work begins, the new classrooms, media centers, cafeterias and more.

"It was a very quick process," said Anthony Rizzo Jr., the CEO and President of A.M. Rizzo Electric based in Danbury. Rizzo won the bids for Shelter Rock, Stadley Rough and the former Mill Ridge Intermediate School. "In two-and-a-half-weeks, it went from bid, to signed contracts to a pre-construction meeting to starting the jobs."

Danbury voters agreed in November 2012 to spend $40 million to expand three schools and to renovate Mill Ridge Intermediate School into a new middle school. The three schools now being expanded are Park Avenue, Stadley Rough and Shelter Rock.

City Engineer Farid Khouri said he and his engineering staff worked for the last six months to get the project ready for bid and construction as soon as school let out in June. Worth Construction of Bethel has the Park Avenue renovation project.

"We have to complete the site work for the buses and the parent drop-off before the children return to school," Khouri said.

Each school is being renovated to meet its specific needs. Khouri said Park Avenue will have a $10 million renovation, including a two-story addition with a media center, storage room and 12 new classrooms.

Stadley Rough will have a $5.5 million renovation with four new classrooms, new student bathrooms and other improvements.

Shelter Rock, a $6 million renovation, will have five new classrooms, and extensive renovations.

Mill Ridge will be completely renovated to accommodate the science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) program now at Rogers Park Middle School. It will have a separate school of international studies, which will extend the education now offered at Danbury's International Magnet School on Middle River Road.

Rizzo expects to start work on Mill Ridge in late July. That school will be empty during the school year, and Rizzo said he expects that renovation will be complete in late spring 2014. All the school renovation projects are scheduled for completion by the opening of school in 2014. 
Rizzo said in an effort to keep people safe during the renovations, the company's safety officer, Pete Serencsics, is traveling from job site to job site to make sure all workers, sub contractors and anyone who tries to get onto the job sites is safe. The sites are surrounded by silt fences and some gates to keep people away.

"Because it's a school, you have to be extra cautious," Rizzo said. "Right now the grounds are all torn up."

Workers have removed the parking areas at Stadley Rough, Shelter Rock and Park Avenue, and are installing new drainage.