Darien Celebrates Start Of Hindley, Holmes And Royle Renovations

DARIEN, CT — There were smiles all around Tuesday as the Darien community held a groundbreaking ceremony to mark the long-awaited start of the Hindley, Holmes and Royle elementary school renovation projects.

School and town officials, along with parents and several students, gathered at Royle Elementary School for the ceremony as construction crews worked in the background. Construction began about three months ago and is slated to be completed by fall 2026.

Notably, portable classrooms will be removed, and new classrooms/instructional spaces/wings will be added and right-sized. New libraries will be constructed at Hindley and Royle, and the existing library at Holmes will be renovated, among other site upgrades.

Superintendent of Darien Public Schools Dr. Alan Addley reminded attendees Tuesday that the construction will maintain the character of the original buildings.

Mechanicals at all three schools will be upgraded, too, including the addition of centralized air conditioning.

Overall, the renovations will cost just over $101 million and will be partially funded by a state grant. KG+D Architects is the design architect for the projects, and O&G Industries is the construction management team.

"We are tremendously excited about what will be beautifully renovated buildings here," Addley said Tuesday.

"One of the greatest dignities of humankind is paying it forward to the young people and future generations. That's one of the greatest privileges and responsibilities we have," Addley added. "These buildings that are soon to be adorned are a reflection of the investment from Darien Public Schools in its young people and its youngest students for years to come."

HHR Building Committee Chair and Board of Education Chair Jill McCammon spoke about three major components of the renovations: classroom size, building mechanicals and air conditioning, and library spaces.

"We're looking now at a more individualized experience, so we need to right-size many of our classrooms so that kids can meet in smaller groups, and we also reconfigured some of the classrooms to provide a few smaller classrooms so we can also provide some more individualized instruction," she said.

The way elementary school students use libraries has also changed, and McCammon expressed excitement about how the new spaces will shape learning.

"At the end of the day, we're so excited to be here. We're grateful to all of our partners in getting us to this point, and we're really thrilled to continue to be a center of educational excellence here in Connecticut," she said.

First Selectman Jon Zagrodzky highlighted the fact that the original buildings are being renovated — a testament to their quality.

"The fact that we have these buildings available for renovation like this means they were built well, and with this particular project, these buildings are going to last well into the future and provide education for Darien's children," Zagrodzky noted.

The schools' three principals -- Ross Cooper, of Hindley; Paula Bleakley, of Holmes; and Natasha Torre, of Royle — all spoke briefly and expressed excitement about their future buildings.

To open the groundbreaking ceremony, HHR Building Committee Co-Chair Christopher Price thanked all the town bodies who were involved in helping to make the project come to fruition.

The road to construction wasn't linear, and Price said building committee members often had to rethink plans through feedback from town officials and residents.

Price also acknowledged HHR Building Committee member David Martin, who died suddenly on July 30.

"Dave was an absolutely critical member of this project. He spearheaded the appropriations process, which for anybody who was paying attention during that, it took some time. There were some challenges to it, and Dave was front and center during the whole thing. He also spearheaded negotiations with our design team and with the construction management team on the contracts with those groups," Price said.

"Unfortunately, we have no choice but to continue forward without Dave. We are filling his shoes, and they're very, very big shoes to fill, but his absence will be felt."

The crowd then held a moment of silence.