CBT and Dellbrook team up on New Athletic Center for Hillside School

Marlborough, MA – The Hillside School, a premier junior boy’s boarding school for grades 5 to 9 in Malborough, MA, has selected Dellbrook Construction of Braintree as construction manager of its new 36,000sf, multi-use Athletic Center. CBT of Boston is the project architect.
Over the past 10 years, the wooded, 200-acre Hillside campus has grown to include a student center, residential houses, and an academic & health center. The final phase of the school’s ongoing capital campaign is an indoor athletic center, reflecting Hillside’s focus on its Marquee Sports Program that emphasizes teamwork and sportsmanship. The new building will house three athletic courts and provide space for large assemblies. Its signature architectural element – the Tree House – will serve as a striking visual introduction to the school’s distinctive approach, providing flexible space for conferences and yoga classes.
“The design of the Tree House identifies Hillside as a unique environment and learning community,” says Paul Viccica, AIA, lead architect for CBT. “We were asked by the school to design the Athletic Center with the surrounding natural resources in mind. The Tree House will welcome people as they approach the main campus.”
As CM-at-Risk, Dellbrook has been working collaboratively with CBT and the client to value engineer elements of the project to achieve optimum return on Hillside’s investment.
“We chose Dellbrook because they reminded us of ourselves many years ago: young and energetic,” says David Beecher, headmaster of Hillside School. “As architects and builders, CBT and Dellbrook are both new to our school. They are equally creative in their approach to the work. We are very excited at the relationships we’ve developed so far.”
“The Hillside School project is extremely important to Dellbrook’s continued growth and diversification,” notes Mike Fish, president of Dellbrook, a company known for its market rate and affordable residential housing work, but also one that is building a solid reputation in the health care and private education markets. “Our approach is to bring value to each project by being aggressive with our preconstruction value engineering process and developing reliable cost estimates.”
The process of advancing site work has begun as final fundraising and design falls into place. “Campaign contributors, alumni, students and faculty love seeing activity on the site,” says Beecher. “It inspires participation and enthusiasm.”
As on similar projects, Dellbrook is mindful that it will be building in close proximity to the students, staff and faculty, requiring a collaborative and professional approach to progress the work and protect the safety of the Hillside community.
On the strength of its performance on recent projects, Dellbrook Construction was listed among the fastest growing companies by Boston Business Journal in 2011. Success as construction managers and general contractors on education projects – such as the renovation of Fox Hall at UMASS Lowell and construction of a new dormitory at The Winchendon School – has raised Dellbrook’s profile in the education market.
“Dellbrook was very helpful in helping us successfully navigate unforeseen impacts on construction and by adopting their schedule around the complications,” says John A. Kerney, headmaster at The Winchendon School. “Our new building is better than its original design. The Dellbrook team made suggestions that helped us improve the building. I am confident that we will be working with Dellbrook again on upcoming projects.”