Gilbane Building Company Breaks Ground on New Newport High School

On June 17, 2022, administrators, faculty, and students from Newport Public Schools joined U.S. Senators Jack Reed and Sheldon Whitehouse, Rhode Island Governor Dan McKee, RIDE Commissioner Angelica Infante-Green, Treasurer Seth Magaziner, and other local elected officials, alongside representatives from Gilbane Building Company, Downes Construction, and SLAM to celebrate the official groundbreaking ceremony for the new Rogers High School.

Designed by SLAM to meet the New England Collaborative for High Performance Schools criteria, the new, approximately 166,000-SF facility will encompass three floors and integrate existing career and technical education programs currently located on the school campus, including STEM and media design labs, along with cosmetology and culinary centers.

The school will be constructed adjacent to the existing high school, which will remain fully operational and accessible by vehicles and pedestrians during construction. Upon occupancy of the new high school, the existing vacated school facility will be demolished to allow for development of new driveways, parking areas, and landscaped areas.

During his ceremonial remarks, RI Treasurer Seth Magaziner, who was instrumental in helping the Rhode Island Department of Education assess all 306 public school facilities in Rhode Island in 2017, noted, “Rogers High School held the dubious distinction of being the worst-rated facility of all 306, so this is a day we have been waiting for for a long time.”

“We’re so excited to have reached this milestone and mark the official groundbreaking of the new Rogers High School with the City of Newport,” said Steve Duvel, senior vice president and business unit leader for Gilbane in Rhode Island. “Our experience as a leading builder of K-12 facilities throughout Rhode Island and the country, coupled with our ‘student and community first’ mindset, empowers us to deliver a new high school that citizens of Newport can truly be proud of.”

Rogers High School is set for completion in 2024.

About Gilbane Building Company

Gilbane provides a full slate of construction and facilities-related services – from pre-construction planning and integrated consulting capabilities to comprehensive construction management, general contracting, design-build, and facility management services – for clients across various markets. Founded in 1870 and still a privately held, family-owned company, Gilbane has more than 45 office locations worldwide. For more information, visit www.gilbaneco.com.

###