Here's what a new Burlington High School and Technical Center would cost

April Barton, Burlington Free Press
·2 min read

The Burlington School District announced cost estimates for the construction of a new Burlington High School and Burlington Technical Center.

The district is considering a building size between 273,040 to 315,850 square feet. Based upon price per square foot and other factors, the district projects the cost to be between $161 and $207 million.

The Burlington community will have help paying for the project, Superintendent Tom Flanagan said in a note to families.

"We have already set aside more than $11 million to support this project, I will be reaching out for State and Federal support, and we have begun formalizing partnerships that will allow us to pursue fundraising efforts like grants and donations."

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Burlington High School in Burlington, VT Oct. 19, 2020.
Burlington High School in Burlington, VT Oct. 19, 2020.

The school district has said it wishes to spend $10 million of its latest round of COVID relief funds on the construction project.

Outside of the construction costs, the district will also need to pay for hazardous chemical clean up of the former building, which is what precipitated the decision to build a new campus. The removal of the building, materials, and PCB-laden soil is expected to cost between $26 million and $29 million. Although the two locations occupy the same property on Institute Road, the clean up and construction can happen concurrently as the sites are far enough apart.

Burlington taxpayers are expected to vote this fall on a bond to pay for the new school construction.

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In March of 2020, South Burlington voters overwhelmingly rejected new school construction of a similar price. The $209 million project for a new high school, middle school and athletics complex was one voters felt would raise their property taxes too much.

At the time the state offered no assistance for school construction projects. However, Act 72, which the governor signed into law on June 8 of this past year, reinstated state funding for school construction.

Community members are welcome to watch the Burlington School Board Meeting on March 2, which will go over the cost estimates and project updates. The meeting will be in person at Hunt Middle School at 1364 North Ave. starting at 6 p.m. The meeting will also be broadcasted on Zoom at https://us06web.zoom.us/j/84200992739#success and Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/BurlingtonVTSchools.

Burlington Technical Center as seen in October 2020 after PCBs had closed the campus, including Burlington High School. The highest levels of airborne hazardous chemicals were found in the BTC building.
Burlington Technical Center as seen in October 2020 after PCBs had closed the campus, including Burlington High School. The highest levels of airborne hazardous chemicals were found in the BTC building.

Here is the district's anticipated timeline for the project.

  • March 2: Present program options and high-level cost estimates to School Board.

  • March 18: Draft conceptual design options completed.

  • March 28: Final conceptual design options and project cost estimates completed.

  • April 5: Present conceptual design options and project cost estimates to School Board.

  • April 12: Public forum – Present conceptual design options.

  • April 21: School Board choose a conceptual design for next phase of design.

  • Summer 2023: Construction begins.

  • Summer 2025: Grand opening.

Contact reporter April Barton at abarton@freepressmedia.com or 802-660-1854. Follow her on Twitter @aprildbarton.

This article originally appeared on Burlington Free Press: Burlington High School, Technical Center construction costs announced