Quincy's heart of green

The largest municipal project in Quincy's history is underway in the heart of the city, creating a new high school that will bear little resemblance to the one that has stood on Coddington Street for nearly a century.

The new $126 million Quincy High will be a state-of-the-art, environmentally friendly "green" facility, transforming parts of the old school and adding extensive new construction to it. An expanded college-style campus will be the backdrop.

The start of demolition on parts of the old building this summer ended a decade of debate over whether the school should stay downtown. Construction is in full gear, even as students attend classes. Completion is expected in 2010.

The new school is part of the first wave of so-called "green" school buildings sprouting up around Massachusetts. There will be skylights in the hallways to allow for ventilation and sunlight, a greenhouse, solar panels, and a small wind turbine (for use in science class), according to architect Alex Pitkin of Symmes Maini & McKee Associates Inc.

An array of smaller energy-efficient features - such as low-flow plumbing fixtures and recycling stations - could save tens of thousands of dollars in energy bills, according to Martine Dion, architect and senior associate. "The goal is to have the energy bills be 20 to 25 percent less than if it was built to standard code," she said.

Plans for a "renewable garden," adjacent to the greenhouse, are also in the works. And the building will feature a solar thermal system connected to two of the school's hot water tanks. Sunlight will be used to preheat water and conserve energy. It will "serve the building and be a teaching tool," said Dion.

The scope of the final product will also give the school a dramatically different look.

Large sections of the old school are being torn down in phases to make way for two new wings. Once complete, a curved brick facade will swoop along a tree-lined entrance to a grassy courtyard. The campus will also house a 750-seat auditorium and a restaurant open to the public. Overall, the new school complex will be approximately 350,000 square feet.

Woodward Avenue, which cuts across the Quincy High School site, has been eliminated to make way for a tree-lined entryway and a landscaped walk, as well as new classrooms. The architects' sketches for this part of the campus show students strolling with books in hand, in a leafy, New England campus-like setting that could have been torn from an Ivy League college catalog.

"As a parent, it's exciting to see the project finally getting underway," said Chris Meyers. "The need has been there for a long time." Meyers said his daughter, who is now a senior in college, had expected to graduate from a new Quincy High building. His son is a senior at Quincy High.

"I'm a little sad that my children won't see the benefit of it, but in the long run, it's going to be an asset to the entire city," he said.

The project's benefits go beyond bricks and mortar. Closing Woodward Avenue also removes a longtime social barrier. For years, the street has divided the student body - with career and technical education classes on one side of the road and college-track classes on the other. The new design will bring students together.

Classes will be grouped according to discipline and skills as they apply to the real world. Students studying biology and chemistry will work alongside vocational students preparing for medical and health services careers. Likewise, math and physics classes will be situated near the electrical engineering, plumbing, and automotive training programs; the wood shop will be in the fine arts wing, so it can be used for designing theater sets.

The Three Seasons, Quincy High's student-run restaurant and bakery, will move into a bigger, brighter location where students will continue to prepare and serve meals to the public and be able to showcase their culinary arts to a broader audience. Principal Frank Santoro believes the new building will allow more people to discover the restaurant, one of the school's hidden gems.

Between now and completion, students will be going to school in what amounts to a construction site - although officials have found ways to minimize the distraction. For example, heavy demolition will be scheduled in the summertime, when students are on break.

Tishman Construction Corp. of Massachusetts is overseeing the project. Some 72 percent of the $126 million cost will be reimbursed by the state, according to the Massachusetts School Building Authority.

The city received a $95,000 grant from the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative's Renewable Energy Trust to integrate environmentally friendly fixtures into the design. A "green" sensibility defines other aspects of the project, too: for example, almost all the debris from demolition and construction - materials like brick, mortar, and steel - will be recycled, said Dion.

But perhaps the greenest aspect of the project is its proximity to public transportation - the Quincy Center MBTA station is a short walk away

"One of the best things about it is the location, right in the heart of our city," Mayor William J. Phelan said. "This is where the school has always been, and for a reason. The location is ideal."

Carving out a new high school campus in the middle of a confined space in the middle of downtown has been no easy task. For years, public officials searched for an alternative location. But finding suitable land within the city's 17 square miles proved to be even more difficult.

A plan to build the school on Sea Street was ultimately scrapped. And a proposal to build it on a former landfill off Quincy Avenue was one of the main reasons Phelan ran for mayor in 2001.

He was among those who insisted that the high school stay in Quincy Center, and it was one of the issues that propelled his campaign against the incumbent, James Sheets.

With only one term on the School Committee under his belt, Phelan unseated the 12-year mayor by a hairline margin of 17 votes - the closest mayoral election in the city's history.

Now, a project that has been 10 years in the making has begun under Phelan's administration. But it kicked off with little fanfare.

In June, the groundbreaking ceremony was postponed when teachers went on strike.

Phelan says he can do without a ceremonial shovel; he's just looking forward to cutting the ribbon when the new high school campus is in place, in a location he considers symbolic.

"It really tells our students and teachers that we want you here in the heart of our city."

Emily Sweeney can be reached at esweeney@globe.com.