HARWICH – The new Cape Cod Regional Technical High School in Harwich is on pace to be ready for students in the fall.
The CapeCod.com NewsCenter recently received a tour of the new $120 million facility, which is close to being weather tight, according to Superintendent Robert Sanborn.
Construction began just over a year ago in January 2019 on the two-story building which will feature 220,000 square feet of space.
“It’s been a lot of fun,” Sanborn said. “It’s been a labor of love.”
Sanborn said the top floor of the new structure is almost completely walled, taped and painted.
“To see where we are today is really gratifying, and I hope this is going to be a community resource for the next 50 years for all 12 towns,” Sanborn said.
The school provides technical education for students from Mashpee to Provincetown.
The move into the new facility is expected to begin in early June.
“We complete school in middle of June and hopefully the move will be done at the end of June,” Sanborn said.
After the move is completed, the process will begin this summer to level the current building for parking.
Students will come in to the new building in September.
Sanborn said enrollment for the school is strong heading into the opening of the new building.
In late January, the school had almost 230 student applications, which is up from 130 at the same time last year.
Sanborn said some of that is a result of personnel structuring with a dedicated position devoted to admissions, along with public relations efforts.
“But I think the buzz about the new facility is also one of the contributors to having more applications,” he said.
Sanborn said the increasing cost of traditional four-year college education and the resurgence in the need for professionals in trade industries is leading to more students pursuing a technical education path.
“We’ve talked about the skills gap before and the average age of workers in many of the programs we offer are in the mid- to high 50s,” he said. “I think all of those coming together is a perfect storm for us.”
Sanborn said the new structure will also better serve the community as a whole.
The current student-run training restaurant, The Hidden Cove Restaurant, is the first amenity that will be in the new building.
“It’ll be right out front – very convenient for the public to come and have, what I would say is the best deal,” Sanborn said.
The school’s culinary staff is thinking of new names for the restaurant for its move to the new building.
The restaurant will also feature outdoor seating where meals will be served when the weather is warm.
“These are win-win situations where the community gets a nice meal, or they get their hair done in cosmetology and the students are learning from the community members,” Sanborn said.
Other services offered by the school include carpentry, HVAC and electrical, along with transportation maintenance for boats and vechicles.
“It takes a call, and it has to be educationally beneficial to the students, but quite often we give a lot of help to the community members with their boats, their cars and their house,” he said.
The new school was designed around 15 technical programs across five academies.
The Freshman Academy will be located toward the front of the building on the first floor, along with some of the community resources, including the restaurant and cosmetology.
The Construction Academy includes HVAC, plumbing, electrical, carpentry and horticulture.
The STEAM Academy will be located on the second floor and will include information technologies, engineering technologies, design and visual communications, and art.
The Transportation Academy will include auto collision, auto tech and marine.
The hospitality programs will be in the front of the building and health and human services, including health technologies and dental, will be on the second floor.
Sanborn also thanked the residents from all 12 towns in the district for overwhelmingly supporting the project.
For a 3-D walkthrough, videos and more of the new building, visit capetech.us.
Graduates can register for the Cape Cod Regional Technical High School Alumni Association by visiting capetech.us. Once registered, alumni will be provided news and events.
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