PITTSFIELD, Mass. — For all intents and purposes, the new Taconic High School building is done.

 

A temporary certificate of occupancy has been granted and administrative staff has been working out of the new $120.8 million building.

 

The teacher's supplies sit in boxes in each room and next week they'll start unpacking and setting up the classrooms. The staff members had been asked to pack up before they left for the summer and a moving company transported the boxes from the old classrooms to the new.

 

The building has been under construction for two years, kicking off in the spring of 2016, and this October a ribbon cutting ceremony is planned.

 

However, there is still some work being done on site. The auditorium and the shops are still considered construction zones. In the auditorium, the final bit of wiring is being done along with a back wall being installed. Soon, seats and aisle carpet will be laid. 

 

Electricians have been putting in extra days in this final month before school starts to finish up in the shops and the work left in some classes. In a week or so, the plants for the green roofs are expected to be placed.

 

There is still furniture and equipment expected to arrive later this week and into next week. The heating and cooling system is expected to be commissioned soon and health and building inspectors are expected to give their approval on the culinary kitchen.

 

Once the final pieces of the project are done in time for the students to arrive in late August, there will still be some punch list items and cleaning to be done. 

 

Meanwhile, deconstruction of the original Taconic has already begun. A fence surrounds the building and inside asbestos abatement and some internal demolition underway. Once that building is demolished, workers will install playing fields in that space. 

 

At the new Taconic, the landscaping around the building and parking lots are just about complete. That includes a new walkway to the track. In a separate project, the track and fencing are expected to be repairs and a community effort including donated labor and material from the construction companies working on the project is going to install new dugouts for the baseball field.

 

The new 246,520 square feet building, set to accommodate 920 students, broke ground in 2016. The site had been a small parking lot and rocky terrain. It has since been transformed into a new school. Skanska USA, architects Drummey Rosane Anderson Inc., and Gilbane Construction have been overseeing the work.

 

iBerkshires has been regularly following the project. Check out our photos from a number of tours of the site below. The newest photos are first and then the rest are chronological.