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A preliminary assessment of potential sites for a new Burlington High School found significant problems with the downtown option, which would likely be a more costly and drawn-out undertaking than building on the existing Institute Road campus.
The firm considered two potential scenarios for the Gateway Block. In one, the new building would incorporate a renovated Memorial Auditorium and fire station. But the structure would not include a library; instead, students and staff would use the city's Fletcher Free Library, next to the school.
In the other, Memorial Auditorium would be demolished to make way for a new building, which would be big enough to include a library. As in the first scenario, the fire station would be renovated and incorporated into the school building.
Under both models, the school building would not be large enough to fit all of Burlington Technical Center’s programs, and the surrounding area could not accommodate the 325 parking spaces the school district has said it needs.
Additionally, a historic, brick-and-cobblestone sewer and stormwater line that runs under the site — known as the ravine sewer — would likely have to be relocated and rebuilt before a new building went up.
"That's a very, very expensive and time-consuming project that's going to have to be dealt with," project manager Joe Weith said. "There's a significant amount of engineering analysis and study that's going to be done to determine the proper design ... It's unknown what that cost is going to be, and it's unknown who's going to have to pay for it."
The soil under the Gateway Block is most likely "horrible," Weith added, and would not support a large building. That dirt would have to be removed and replaced by suitable soil, another expensive undertaking.
The Institute Road campus has been closed since September 2020, when the district discovered polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) contamination in the buildings. In May, the school board voted to build a new school.
Tags: Burlington High School, White + Burke, PCBs, Gateway Block, Institute Road, Web Only, Image
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