Looking into the new year, construction at Eden Park Elementary and Garden City Elementary Schools is moving along as workers bring 21st century, state-of-the-art learning facilities to Cranston. Here are the latest developments on the two projects:

Eden Park

Eden Park’s construction started in late spring of 2022 and now the district is in phase two of the project. This phase calls for ADA upgrades, cafeteria renovation and a gymnasium addition. ADA upgrades were completed over the summer and the work to the cafeteria and gym is currently underway. According to Cranston Public Schools (CPS), all work is progressing well with anticipated completion of spring 2023.

“The school remains operational without interruptions with ongoing daily coordination between school staff and the construction team. The construction site is fully secured and separated from school operation making the construction possible while school is in session,” reads the CPS website.

Approximately 30 workers are on site each day conducting work to the 3,000 square foot cafeteria and 4,700 square foot gymnasium. According to Chief of Facilities Management and Capital Projects Ed Collins, the project is also on time and within the target budget.

Phase one of Eden Park Elementary included the renovation of the intermediate wing. According to CPS, the space was brought down to studs, but the footprint remained the same. The redesign incorporated all of the spaces in the wing, including the hallways, in order to create educational space and learning opportunities throughout. The new learning community consists of large classroom spaces (called advisory rooms) which have smaller rooms between every two which are used for peer to peer collaboration and for teacher-student work. The rooms have large windows which are secure, but allow for natural light as well as the ability for the teachers in both rooms to have eyes on the students who are using the smaller rooms. There is also a large group space which is used for whole classes and groups of classes, presentations, speakers, etc. Additionally, there are smaller collaborative spaces as well as a NOOK space for students to work together. There is also a large maker space which is used for creative collaboration and for art classes. The HVAC system is top of the line and meets or exceeds all requirements since Covid.

Since the cafeteria is under renovation, students are eating lunch in a portable space moved onto the Eden Park site. Additionally, a fifth-grade cafe was set up in the main building for the fifth-grade students so as not to overfill the portable cafeteria.

Shawmut, a 100 percent employee-owned construction management firm, is completing the Eden Park project. The company has 11 offices across the country with one in Providence and works in areas of education, cultural and historic preservation, commercial, corporate interiors, healthcare, life sciences, hospitality, luxury homes, retail and sports venues.
The company has kept Eden Park students involved with the project through presentations. In December, Shawmut shared that they were completing metal framing in the cafeteria’s Interior.

“The interior framing defines spaces in the cafeteria and bathroom areas,” reads Shawmut’s presentation. “These are called partition walls because they do not bear weight. Much of the plumbing and electrical wiring will be hidden inside the interior walls.”

Upcoming work includes installing a steel structure at the cafeteria roof and gym connector and installation of CLT decking and Glulam Trusses at the gym. The district said phase three will begin in the early spring and will be the renovation of the primary wing; the design will be similar to the intermediate learning community.

Garden City

The Garden City Elementary building is 74 percent complete, so finish work is starting to make its way through the building. Collins said the project is on time and costs an estimated $54 million. There have been numerous delays on materials, so the completion date moved from March/April to July/August – still before the 2023-2024 school year commences. Dimeo Construction, who is heading up the project, has also been sharing updates with students. The building’s completed parts include interior and exterior framing, roof and stairs. Ongoing work includes windows, siding panels, masonry band, rough-in and drywall.