(l-r) Jason deWildt, owner of S.U.R. Construction; Rick Lundborn, PM, CLD Consulting Engineers; Craig Jewett, president, Jewett Construction; Phillip Saltmarsh, PM, DeStefano Architects; Jim Jacobs; Josephine Jacobs; Harold Jacobs; Diane Bessey, executive director, Jim Carolan, board chair, and Susan DeRoy, director of BD, all of the Monarch School of NE; Caroline McCarley, mayor of Rochester; Caitlyn Marble, Rochester Chamber of Commerce; Karen Pollard, economic dev. manager, city of Rochester; Meghan Anderson, Eastern Propane, Monarch School of NE Board; and Jonathan Shapleigh , VP commercial banking, Bank of N.H.
Rochester, NH – The Monarch School of New England broke ground on its new regional high school and vocational center on July 15 in a ceremony attended by project partners city of Rochester Mayor Caroline McCarley and city of Rochester’s Economic Development Manager Karen Pollard.
The groundbreaking marks the beginning of construction for a new ground-up, regional high school and vocational center for young adults with significant disabilities by Raymond, N.H.-based Jewett Construction Company, Inc.
The full team of DeStefano Architects, Jewett Construction, Summit Engineering, CSI Engineering, HBLA, Inc., and CLD Consulting Engineers are working with local subcontractors and the Monarch School to design and build a facility that will provide the necessary equipment and space to educate and provide training to its students for a wide variety of work options in the agriculture, hospitality, technology, and service sectors. The project is being funded by community support, a generous pool of corporate donors, and a construction loan from the Bank of New Hampshire
The new 11,000sf facility, designed by DeStefano Architects of Portsmouth, will be built on a parcel of land within a beautiful farm off of Eastern Avenue in Rochester. The new facility will house a large multipurpose room, a computer lab, a woodworking/shop area, art and music room, a greenhouse, a kitchen for preparing student lunches, and numerous classrooms and administrative offices. The exterior will include cementitious siding, a standing seam metal roof, and multiple cupolas. Also onsite will be a half-court basketball court for the students to enjoy.
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Jewett Construction, a second-generation, family run firm with a long history of building projects benefitting New Hampshire communities and non-profits, will once again work with client, partners and the community to build a facility promising to provide education, well-being and opportunity to the needs of the regions young adults with significant disabilities.
“We’re honored to be part of this tremendous project,” says Craig Jewett, President of Jewett Construction. “It’s not simply a wonderful opportunity for our company, but for the community at large. A community-build such as the Monarch School of New England project is uplifting for all involved and will, without a doubt, leave a lasting impression on the region.”
“This is our second design collaboration with the school and we are excited to team with Jewett Construction for this project. We are proud to be a part of a team mutually focused on the betterment of the learning environment for the students of the Monarch School,” says Lisa DeStefano, Principal Architect and Founder of DeStefano Architects.
“Our groundbreaking was a huge success – I was amazed at the number of people that came together to help us celebrate,” says Diane Bessey, Executive Director of the Monarch School of New England. “We have waited over 15 years for this new regional high school and vocational center to be built. Everything has finally come together for us to realize our vision. We are so grateful for everyone that has been a part of this, including all of our partners. The best is yet to come.”
