The State of CT cited the Consolidated School District of New Britain for various ADA violations at New Britain High School in 2005. Violations included non-compliant handicapped parking, door swing/door approach, door hardware, wheelchair lifts, non-compliant science work stations for students/teachers, non-compliant Auditorium sound control booth, and non-compliant bathrooms. The City of New Britain began working on many violations from 2005 through 2020. In 2021, the City was required to provide an update to the State of CT on the completion status of the violations. In doing so, the City found that there were still large portions of work that had yet to be completed and opted to engage a contractor to bring on to their team to help navigate the project to completion.
In the Fall of 2021, Newfield Construction was hired as a Design-Builder to assist the Consolidated School District of New Britain with completing a survey of complete vs. incomplete violation items. Newfield was responsible for identifying incomplete items and coming up with scopes of work and designs to correct the things still in violation. This included a team that could provide architectural services, code compliance services, mechanical/electrical engineering services, and construction management services. Newfield completed the designs, bid on the project, provided the Consolidated School District of New Britain with a GMP, and started construction in June 2022.
As one of the largest Public High Schools in the State of CT, New Britain High School remains active and occupied year-round. Newfield focused the majority of the work to take place during the Summer of 2022 while the building was partially occupied, but also made provisions for the remaining work in the Fall of 2022 to take place after hours and on weekends to not disrupt the students and staff during the ’22 – ’23 school year.
After the project, Newfield assisted the Consolidated School District of New Britain with final inspections and closeout documentation with the State of CT, so there were no open ADA violations.