EAST PROVIDENCE — The first outward signs of new construction on the Martin Middle School renovation project, one of three significant efforts occurring concurrently in the district, became visible in the last week or so as the elevator tower began to be erected at the Brown Street site.

The tower will eventually be encased within the new three-story classroom structure being built on the north side of the campus. It is the focal point of the $117-million plus remodeling plan for the 48-year-old school. The entire project is expected to be complete in time for the start of the 2026-27 term.

"The elevator shaft is in. A lot of the foundational work is complete. The steel is scheduled to be delivered in early August. Once that gets here, the skeleton of the new building will start taking shape and you'll really see things moving after that," said Manny Vinhateiro, the former East Providence schools superintendent who now serves as co-chair of the district's Building Committee with former School Committee member Joel Monteiro. Both discussed the status of the ongoing projects in separate interviews last week.

Vinhateiro continued, "Fortunately, the rainy weather we had through most of the spring has gone away. It's allowed for more efficient work to take place, but there has still been a lot of internal work going on that the public hasn't seen., especially where the old and the new buildings will join together."

The Martin project as well as meaningful upgrades to the Waddington Elementary School building were the key components included in the $148 million school construction bond referendum approved by city voters back in November of 2022.

Shawmut was eventually hired as the lead contractor with the East Providence-based Peregrine Group, as it was for the new East Providence High School project, serving as the district's owner's project manager.

In addition, though not part of the 2022 referendum, a number of crucial renovations at Riverside Middle School are well on their way to being completed as well.

"The key issues about all three projects are that they remain on budget and on time," said Vinhateiro. "That's pretty noteworthy, especially for Martin," Vinhateiro continued. "It's pretty much still on time. It's a little bit behind because of the contaminated soil situation, but not that far back."

Vinhateiro was referring to the discovery earlier this year of ground contaminants at the north end of the MMS site adjacent to the old parking lot, black-top basketball court and grassy area where informal athletics and gatherings were held near Bliss Street.

Upon discovery of the contaminants (In times now long gone-by, the location was once a working farm and where unauthorized dumping of appliances and hazardous materials took place.), contractors immediately contacted the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management.

All parties involved eventually settled on an initial approach to remediating the soil, which included removing from the location a large amount. There remains some on site in the area being used as a staging area, which must also eventually be dealt with.

"Some of the contaminated soil has been trucked off site and we're still working with DEM to potentially find less expensive ways to remediate the rest," Vinhateiro said. "By the way, DEM has been very helpful, but everything takes time. It's the summer. People are allowed to take vacations. People at DEM can take vacations, too. We'll get everything figured out some time here soon."

Monteiro was pretty much on the same page as hit cohort. He also highlighted the internal work required to allow for the new and old portion of MMS to meet.

As a reminder, the new north side structure will join the remnants of the existing building which houses the cafeteria, auditorium and gymnasium. The south side of the old building will also be significantly altered in the second phase of the project, so it can become the home for the entirety of the district's Pre-Kindergarten program. The whole Pre-K has been shifted to the Oldham (Meadowcrest) Early Learning Center in Riverside during construction.

"Things are going well. The contaminated soil on the north side of the building has been identified and contained. Inside the existing building they've done a lot of work re-enforcing the walls to receive the addition," Monteiro added of the MMS effort. "And most people didn't think anything of it at the time, but the locker rooms for the gymnasium were on the second floor. They weren't ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) accessible. That's all being changed. The locker rooms are going to be on the first floor. There's also work going on to expand the Chorus room. So there's been a lot going on."

On the contaminated soil matter, Monteiro said, "We're still figuring how much more we need to remove and how much we'll be able to keep and cap, but we haven't had to blow anything out of the budget except for a slight redesign of the external plans. We don't know what the final remediation cost is going be quite yet, but that's what you have a contingency (fund) for. But rest assured, we're watching every dollar spent. We're trying to find efficiencies where we can."

The co-chairs both gave kudos to the lead contractor to date. Vinhateiro said, "Shawmut has been a superb partner so far. They've really been a pleasure to work with." Monteiro added, "Shawmut has been very good to work with so far."

Each also said monetarily and construction-wise, the MMS project remains positive on both parts.

Said Vinhateiro, "The thing about Martin is even with all the excessive remediation fees, we're still in the black. So we've been fortunate in that regard."

Added Monteiro, "We're still optimistic with the timeline. And when I say 'we,' I mean from Shawmut all the way on down to the Building Committee, the administration, the sub-contractors. We don't want to be doing any middle of the school year transitions. We were able to avoid that with the high school, and we're still in good shape in that regard with Martin at the moment."

Waddington notes
The $17-plus million renovation of the Waddington building commenced on June 17, just a few days after the last term concluded. The first phase of the renos there has been dubbed "Summer Slam 1." The second phase of the plan is expected to take place at the conclusion of the upcoming 2024-25 term.

Said Vinhateiro, "Waddington has been moving right along pretty well, but that project really just started. We still have a year-and-a-half to go on that one."

Monteiro expounded a bit more about the Waddington plan. He noted the scope of the project, which, like at Martin, aims to convert the "open" classroom layout by installing walls and doors. It also included the installation of an improved HVAC system, remodeling bathrooms and other key improvements to make the building more efficient, accessible, intimate and secure.

"The folks down there will be getting a better, safer building with a lot of new elements," Monteiro added.

RMS update
Though not part of the 2022 referendum, a number of renovations at Riverside Middle School have been on-going for the last several months, including replacement of its windows as well as redesigns of its Science classrooms and library/media center. Each remains on track to be ready for the start of the upcoming 2024-25 term.

The window project is being financed through the district's annual Capital Improvements budget. The $3.896 million combined Science/Library endeavor is being paid for through grant monies received through the Rhode Island Department of Education's Facility Equity Initiative.

Six Science rooms are being retrofitted to be more flexible and modern are just about complete. Vinhateiro said furniture was expected to be installed shortly, if not already. The existing library has been transformed into a modern, multi-purpose Library/Media Center with a "Maker/Builder Lab," which can offer instruction in such subjects as electronics, computer programming, woodworking, robotics and more.

New facilities director
On an aside, The Post has confirmed Dan Carpenter, who most recently served as the district's Assistant Director of Facilities, has been promoted to the top job.

He replaces former Facilities Director Chris Murphy, whose contract, up at the end of the 2023-24 term, the School Committee opted not to renew/extend. Murphy's last day on the job was June 30.

Carpenter was vetted by a hiring committee. He originally joined the East Providence School Department as, fittingly, the district's master carpenter.