Auburn’s new Edward Little High School at 77 Harris St. boasts a 1,200-seat auditorium, two gymnasiums, maker spaces, flex spaces, lots of music, art and performing arts space, science labs for every science class, technology rooms, a full cafeteria and kitchen, and state of the art indoor and outdoor athletic space. Everything is complemented by natural light, up-to-date technology, security features, emergency safe zones, a fluid classroom and hallway layout allowing large-group, small-group and solitary learning, and a Career and Technical Education program with dedicated space for cosmetology, culinary arts, early childhood education, firefighting science and more.
Here are some of the facts and stats behind the new facility:
• A price tag of just over $126.6 million.
• 280,000 square feet of space, about 70% larger than the old building.
• Plumbing and conduit totaling about 45 miles.
• 130 geothermal wells drilled over 500 feet deep each for efficient heating and cooling.
• About 90,000 cubic yards of ledge removed.
• A roof that can withstand the weight of about 350 elephants, according to the architect.
• ELHS alumni or family make up about 25% of the staff of Harriman Associates of Auburn, which designed and oversaw the project.
• The state of Maine covered 88% of the project’s costs — including 100% of the Career and Technical Education program costs — leaving roughly $15.2 million to Auburn. That amount was bonded out over 20 years and will cost the average taxpayer just under $100 per year.
• Remaining work includes demolition of the old school, construction of additional parking, work on the auditorium and CTE classrooms, the creation and paving of a new bus loop, and the building of softball and baseball fields, tennis courts and a multi-purpose athletic field on site.
• Demolition costs are expected to cost a total of $6.5 million, $6 million of which goes toward the abatement of the toxic chemical polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs). The state kicked in about $5 million toward those costs.
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