Editor’s note: This press release was provided by the Pelham School District.

After more than two years of planning, the Pelham Public Schools will break ground on the new Hutchinson Elementary School at a ceremony starting promptly at 9am on Friday, June 21, 2019 on Hutchinson Field – the future site of the new school.

The ceremony will feature brief remarks by Dr. Cheryl Champ, superintendent of schools, Board of Education President Sue Bratone Childs, Principal Trisha Nugent Fitzgerald and others.

“Construction of a new school in Westchester County is an extremely rare occurrence and we are thrilled to begin work on a project that we believe will be transformational to the Pelham Public Schools and the entire Pelham community,” said Dr. Cheryl Champ, superintendent of schools. “I am thankful to everyone who has worked so hard on this project over the past two years, we are truly fortunate to have such a supportive community that takes tremendous pride in its schools.”

The 68,000 square foot new Hutchinson Elementary School, designed by KG&D Architects, P.C. will be the first new elementary school built in Pelham in four generations. The new school will have sufficient classrooms to meet current and projected enrollment, dedicated special education classrooms, a spacious learning commons, MakerSpace and art and music rooms. Additionally, the school will have a dedicated cafeteria/multipurpose room, and small-group instruction spaces. The building will also feature a number of environmental features such as plentiful natural light, LED lighting, and efficient water and heating systems, designed to make the building equivalent to a LEED Silver Standard.

Following the groundbreaking, contractors, overseen by Triton Construction, will begin preparing the property for construction of the new school. This work includes removing rock from the site, clearing trees and installing construction fencing and will continue into the fall of 2019. The goal is to begin construction of the building itself in winter 2019-20 with targeted completion and opening for fall 2022. Following the opening of the new school, the current building will be demolished and the site will be converted to a new playing field and playground.