GPS Capital Projects Update
Keeping you updated on Greenwich Public Schools projects
The GPS Capital Projects Update is a newsletter issued multiple times per year in order to provide updates on major projects across the district to the Greenwich community. We find that this makes it easy for our elected officials and school community to keep up with our major projects. For those who want more detailed information, on-going updates are uploaded to the facilities projects page on the Greenwich Public Schools website on a regular basis.
The facilities department, contractors, and construction workers across the district are very busy, year-round, working on major renovations, new construction, and closing out capital projects across the district.
Be on the look out for enhancements to the Greenwich High School art wing in upcoming GPS District Digest issues.
Greenwich Public Schools is experiencing the most school construction projects since the 1960s, making great strides on ADA updates, life safety upgrades, and ensuring the children of Greenwich are entering school buildings that they deserve and should be proud of.
Thank you!
Dr. Toni Jones, Superintendent of Schools
On September 3, the Board of Education held their first meeting to discuss the FY28 Capital Plan. Both the district and Town of Greenwich are primarily focused on the five-year outlook. While the district has a longer range plan, focusing on the five-year view provides a much more realistic planning mechanism.
Two up and coming projects which will need construction funding are Riverside School and GHS' The NAT project (Natatorium, Access driveway, and Tennis). In addition, the district is working to complete previously funded multi-year projects, such as: Western Middle School ADA access ramps; update to the Greenwich High School art wing; a planned implementation of necessary stage renovations as prioritized in the study; and a kitchen replacement cycle across all 15 schools determined by the life cycle of various appliances and current conditions.
A ribbon cutting ceremony for the NEW Central Middle School took place on the same day as they welcomed teachers back to work from summer vacation. The event was attended by more than 70 elected officials, past and present; staff; the construction team; and Town of Greenwich department staff who were instrumental in getting the building open on time and currently on budget.
There is still work on-going, with the completion of the demolition of the old building and the construction of the new drop off and pick up drive, expanded parking, and completion of the new athletic fields.
Board of Education and RTM monthly meetings have been temporarily moved off-site so that the rest of the parking lot can be completed. We expect to have adequate parking once again in November for everybody to park safely in the evening and not have to walk through the nature trail way, down the street, and across to the church parking lot in the dark. We do, however, have just the right amount of parking for our staff right now.
Once the parking is completed there will be opportunities for the community to tour the building, including before the first RTM meeting in November. There will be more information to come.
Watch the full ribbon cutting ceremony in its entirely on the district's YouTube channel.
For more information on all of the great things happening at the new Central Middle School, head to the building committee’s webpage.
Photos by Bob Capazzo and Robert Taylor.
The Riverside School Building Committee is working with the firm of QA+M Architecture in Connecticut to determine the design direction to accomplish the educational specifications as approved by the Board of Education. In May 2026, the BOE updated the educational specifications to include the addition of two new PreK classrooms, as the legislature added a 15% reimbursement bonus to any school project which includes the addition of PreK space. This means the additional bonus will actually pay for the construction of the two rooms. Once the decision about design is made, the committee will first proceed to the town’s Planning and Zoning for Municipal Improvement approval. There is a great deal of planning to take place over the next year.
For more information, head to the project’s webpage.
The parking deck at Hamilton Avenue School has been an extensive multi-summer project. During the summer of 2025, the inside of the parking garage was completed and repairs were made and the first layer of the top lot was completed.
This past summer, the final layer of the parking lot was applied during June, July, and August. However, the layer application and/or material was flawed, as the current product bubbled and did not adhere to the district or company satisfaction. As acknowledged by the contractor, they will be back on site to reapply in the near future.
For more information, head to the project’s webpage.
For years, the Hamilton Avenue School Geothermal System had been declining in service capacity and relying heavily on the supplemental system. In August 2023, just before the start of the school year, the system reached a failure point, with temperatures in the building with full cooling on in excess of 86 degrees. To safely start school, GPS did an emergency procurement of a temporary HVAC unit.
At its October 23, 2025 Business Meeting, the Board of Education moved to authorize the administration to request an interim appropriation for Hamilton Avenue School HVAC.
Now, a new vault was installed and the geothermal components are being finalized with an expected date of turning on the new system at the end of September. Once the new system is switched over, the large temporary unit will be removed and returned to the rental company. The district was able to reuse the existing wells which was a significant cost savings to the overall project.
The work during the summer at Old Greenwich School was extensive, and the entire building committee and construction team should be commended for getting a tremendous amount done when the building was closed.
The cafeteria has new lighting, the art and music rooms have been updated, and one of the most exciting aspects for the students was the opening of their new playground.
The building will be under construction for two more years. Currently, there are life safety implementations happening and it is a learning opportunity for students as all the ceiling tiles are out on all three floors, and when the students look up they can see everything that is above the ceiling in a school building.
The new PreK classrooms have the foundations poured and construction will be underway all year.
Want more information? Read the Old Greenwich School Building Committee’s recent newsletter or head to the project’s webpage.
Julian Curtiss School recently celebrated the completion of Phase 1, 2, and 3.
The new secure entry, ADA accessible ramps and doors, new redesigned office space, and elevator were all complete during the last 18 months. This past summer, new kitchen equipment was installed with an extended cafeteria with lighting and presentation space, and furniture is expected to arrive in October. The administration team has been able to collapse one of the lunch waves, which is wonderful because it allows students to not be eating lunch super early or very late in the day.
Watch the full ceremony in its entirely on the district's YouTube channel.
For more information, head to the project’s webpage.
Photos by Angela Cranford.
Scaffolding was set up all summer around the front and side of Cos Cob School. A large-scale roofing project was underway, with most of the front and west side of the roof complete. Next summer, the east side of the roof, closest to the parking lot, will be completed.
These types of projects require multiple summers to complete in order to make sure the building stays safe and secure. We are also grateful to the Town of Greenwich Department of Public Works who resurfaced most of the sidewalks in and around the building this past summer, and they concentrated their work on the parking lot and front side of the building to work collaboratively with the roofing company.
The Greenwich High School Natatorium, Access Driveway, Tennis Project, now simply known as The NAT, will be a much-needed and well-coordinated work to construct a swimming pool facility, a second emergency egress driveway, and relocate on site or resurface the courts.
Late last year, an initial drain issue with the GHS swimming pool required an emergency shut-off valve being installed. Once the pool was empty and the work began, there were noticeable deficiencies with the pool. It was clear that the pool not only needed emergency repairs to keep it open, but the pool is failing in all aspects both physical construction and mechanical. Currently, we are doing everything possible to keep the facility open and in use for the most successful aquatic program in the State of Connecticut.
The Office of the First Selectman completed reviewing applications and interviews for recommendations to form the building committee (BC). The committee recommendations are on the September RTM agenda. Once the BC is finalized, the committee will convene and begin the process of reviewing the feasibility information and begin the selection of an architect to get the project underway. This construction requires a "project management triangle approach," as the pool, access driveway, and tennis require land-use coordination and approvals.
For more information, head to the project’s webpage.
Greenwich Public Schools issued a Request for Proposals (RFP) to assess the condition of performance platforms and theatrical equipment at our elementary and middle schools.
Following a competitive process, a qualified vendor was selected to prepare a detailed report reviewing lighting and sound systems, stage drapery and tracks, rigging, and other related equipment at the elementary and middle schools.
The final assessment will help GPS prioritize upgrades and guide future investments as part of the District’s long-term capital improvement plan.
Read the full report on the district's website.
At the end of the last school year, four Greenwich High School seniors took their internships with the district's Finance Department to new heights, working to assess kitchen equipment across all schools in the district, researching suitable replacement options, and developing cost estimates. It was not only helpful for these four to start their post-high school education, but their report was thorough and much needed for an area that requires attention.
During a four week period, the students toured school kitchens with their staff, recorded inventory, assessed equipment functionality, and created a replacement analysis.
We were not only impressed with the thoroughness, but thankful for their tremendous efforts in helping a district these students have come to love for the past 13 years.
The full report on the district’s kitchen equipment can be viewed online.
The furniture plan for Greenwich High School has been updating old fixed desks, which are not easy to move for 21st century collaboration. The plan is to furnish room by room on an annual cycle basis. In 2018, one-third of the GHS building was completed, and then the implementation was halted from 2019-2025.
Last year the district was able to re-start the implementation cycle to work towards completing GHS before moving on to the elementary and middle schools. The district is using a thoughtful and measured approach over time to lessen the burden on the capital budget.
MP Planning Group, a Connecticut-based planning firm, was hired to conduct a professional analysis of our 11 elementary buildings' capacity. Their work began last fall and an “Elementary School Capacity & Utilization Study” was presented to the Board of Education at its March 2026 Business Meeting.
Overall, the study determined that there is very little room for growth in GPS. During the last 40 years, elementary schools have drastically changed, with: Special Education spaces now needed; growing English Learner populations, which require teaching space; cafeteria’s that meet current code and compliance; mental health support spaces; federally mandated PreK, which requires space in our buildings; and more. PreK alone requires the equivalent space across the district that uses the same number of classrooms as North Mianus or North Street Schools.
Quoting the first page of the study:
GPS Elementary Schools are projected to be well utilized over the next five years, averaging 96% utilization.
- Peak projected utilization in 2030-31 and 2031-32 at 98%.
- There does not appear to be sufficient capacity to consolidate facilities.
You can find the full report online or watch the presentation on the district’s YouTube channel.
