Arlington Celebrates Topping Off Of High School Phase Two Construction

ARLINGTON, MA — Arlington has marked another milestone in the construction of its new high school with the topping off of “phase two” construction at the high school site, officials announced on Thursday of last week.

Crews raised one of the final beams into place as part of the steel structure for phase two work. Topped with a ceremonial evergreen tree and an American flag, the beam was also signed by members of the Arlington High School senior class.

Arlington’s multi-year high school building project wrapped up its first phase of construction in February of last year. The new school’s performing arts and STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics) wings are now open.

Phase two construction is set to be completed in September of this year, with officials planning to open envisioned facilities including the new school's central spine, forum stairs, cafeteria, library, humanities classrooms, learning courtyard and district administration/preschool amenities.

Work will continue after September under a current project timeline, with phase three and four work scheduled to be completed in Dec. 2024 and Sept. 2025 respectively.

Conversations about the need for a new Arlington High School facility date back long before officials finalized a funding plan for the project in 2019. The eventual new high school is expected to cost just under $290.5 million, with $84.7 million in state aid through the Massachusetts School Building Authority.

The finished school, officials have said, will replace an aging facility where roughly 30% of classrooms are considered inadequate.