This site is an old factory campus from the 1850’s comprised of 3 buildings. Building #2 is a 2-story building with the first floor being renovated for an ice cream shop, and the second floor being renovated for an art school. Both businesses were relocated from long-time existing locations in the same town. Building #3 is 2-story small building renovated as an art gallery, with displayed art on the first floor, and the upstairs being the office.

The facility is historic, so locating MEP infrastructure and utility services on the exterior of the building was a challenge. Additionally, the work was performed just after the pandemic cleared, supply chain issues/delays were paramount, and the electric service was delayed for over a year due to limitations in available switchgear, metering equipment, and the utility transformer.

Completed in the summer of 2022, RZ Design, a GM2 Company, provided MEP and Structural Engineering design services for the $63M restoration and expansion of Memorial Boulevard School into the Bristol Arts and Innovation Magnet School. The historic school was built in 1921 and served as Bristol High School until it was abandoned in 2007. The existing 96,000 ft² building was completely renovated and modernized to house aspiring artists, musicians, and engineers in grades 6 to 12 including the 900-seat theater that was restored back to grandeur for the school and community. The project received the 2023 Award of Merit from the Connecticut Building Congress (CBC).

RZ Design, a GM2 Company, provided MEP/FP and structural engineering design services for a new high school for the town of North Branford, CT. The 108,000 sf school was broken up into 5 phases to facilitate the construction.

Phase 1 consisted of the demolition of half of the existing high school on the site. Phase 2 was the construction of the academic wing of the new school, including the media center and cafeteria spaces, to provide space for the students to move into, while the remainder of the existing high school was demolished in Phase 3. Phase 4 saw the construction of the remainder of the school, which included a new gymnasium, locker rooms, tech ed space with a full wood shop, and a culinary classroom with restaurant quality student cooking stations. Phase 5 will consist of the remainder of the site including new student parking.

Project highlights include a new chilled beam HVAC system complete with chillers, all LED lighting with Networked Lighting Controls, and a green roof. Students began using the academic wing in the 2^nd semester of the 2023-2024 school year and will be fully occupying the remainder of the building in the next few weeks.

RZ/GM2 was happy to work with QA+M Architecture to design this state-of-the-art school that will serve the community of North Branford for years to come.