Jack McCarthy, Executive Director of the Massachusetts School Building Authority (“MSBA”), took part in a topping out ceremony to celebrate placing of the last steel beam on the new Caleb Dustin Hunking Middle School in Haverhill. The MSBA is contributing a maximum total facilities grant of over $40.3 million of eligible expenses towards the project.
“In Haverhill’s case, the most educationally and fiscally appropriate solution was a new school to replace a facility with extensive deficiencies,” Executive Director McCarthy said. “This is the type of collaboration and innovative thinking that will benefit not only Haverhill’s students, but also its taxpayers.”
The new 147,996 square-foot Hunking Middle School will be built based on a design enrollment of 1,005 students in Kindergarten through grade 8. The MSBA will contribute 78.93% of eligible costs toward the construction of the facility, for a total grant of up to $40,363,276. The current school was built in 1959 and suffers from deficiencies in major building systems including electrical, plumbing and windows.
The MSBA partners with Massachusetts communities to support the design and construction of educationally appropriate, flexible, sustainable and cost-effective public school facilities. Since its 2004 inception, the Authority has made over 1,600 site visits to more than 250 school districts as part of its due diligence process and has made over $11.6 billion in reimbursements for school construction projects.