Topping it Off: Last Steel Beam Set on Goodwin College’s Connecticut River Academy

Connecticut River Academy students cheered loudly on Wednesday as the final steel beam was placed atop the fourth story of a massive new school building.

The Academy, which has been open in temporary locations on the Goodwin College campus in East Hartford since 2010, will get its permanent home next year. Construction is on pace for the facility to be completed in 2013-14.

The students gathered to watch the final beam set on the building. Many of the teenagers were high school seniors, and while they will have graduated before the new school opens, they have added their legacy. The final beam that topped the building has been signed by all the current students at the Academy.

Construction has been rapid on the new building. In January, Gov. Dannel Malloy helped Goodwin break ground on the project, a $57 million, 103,000 sq. ft., four-story facility on the north end of the River Campus. Once completed, it will house 480 students in a state-of-the-art interdistrict magnet high school.

The facility will include nine college-level science labs, a green roof featuring garden space, a habitat center, collaborative spaces for students and staff, Connecticut River ecology and history displays in the main entrance, music and art rooms, and a university-style lecture hall. There will also be a full-size gymnasium and fitness center, which will be used by both the College and the Connecticut River Academy. There will also be a brand new parking garage.