New Westhill Construction - Community FAQ

In August 2020, the Long-Term Facilities Committee (LTFC) was established, bringing together representatives from the Board of Education (BOE), City of Stamford Planning Board, Board of Finance (BOF), and Board of Representatives (BOR), along with union leaders, parents, community members, and representatives from the Mayor’s Office, Engineering Bureau, and the Stamford Public Schools (SPS) Facilities Department.

The LTFC focused on three key areas: issuing a Request for Proposals (RFP) to hire a professional services firm to develop a comprehensive Master Facilities Plan; identifying potential funding sources (local, state, federal, or private); and ensuring meaningful family and community engagement throughout the process.

After extensive discussion with the SPS Facilities Department—which was responsible for the district’s daily maintenance and repair operations—the BOE, BOF, BOR, and LTFC collectively agreed that Westhill High School required immediate attention.

• 2020: Long-Term Facilities Committee Established
• 2021: Educational Specifications (Ed Specs) for new Westhill developed
  (approved by BOE in May 2021) 
• 2022: State Construction Grant Awarded to City of Stamford for new Westhill 
• 2022: Long Term Facilities Master Plan Completed
• 2023: Program Verification and Design Began
• 2024: Design, Estimating, and Constructability Reviews Continued
• 2025: Connecticut General Assembly Reauthorized funding for new Westhill Project 
• 2025: Design Completed
• 2025: Construction of a “Haul Road” began at Long Ridge (EMS) Property 
• 2026: Construction to Begin on Westhill campus

JCJ Architecture (JCJ), prepared a facility condition assessment report for the existing Westhill High School as part of a feasibility study conducted in Spring 2021. JCJ’s findings detail extensive improvements and the State agreed warranted replacement rather than a prolonged and more costly renovation of the existing facility. JCJ’s report is included in Appendix 5 of the Stamford Public Schools Master Planning Report (pages 70-191) prepared by S/L/A/M in 2022. 

The School Construction Planning Committee is a cross-functional team with representatives from the City of Stamford, the Board of Education, Board of Finance, Board of Representatives, and Stamford Public Schools. The committee is co-chaired by City of Stamford Director of Operations Matt Quiñones and Director of School Construction Katherine LoBalbo. The agendas and minutes for each planning committee meeting may be reviewed here. The members of the planning committee are listed here.

More than 40 design, construction, and project management professionals are directly involved in the creation of the new Westhill High School. Following are the main companies providing these services: 

• Architecture, Planning and Engineering: S/L/A/M Collaborative
• Owners Representatives (Project Management): Colliers Project Leaders
• Construction Management: Joint venture between Dimeo and Bismark

Westhill administrators and teachers were the guiding force behind every facet of the Westhill design. 

The final approved design of the new Westhill High School is based on the educational specifications that were developed in 2021 following a year-long series of meetings with Westhill administrators, department leaders, and teachers from every department. Subsequently, S/L/A/M/ Collaborative spent two years reviewing and confirming the details and vision of the 2021 ed specs through more than 85 meetings, many of which included Westhill administrators, department leaders, and teachers. 

Creating the project plan for the new Westhill High School was a multi-year process. The educational specifications for the new Westhill were approved in 2021 and verified by S/L/A/M over the course of two years from June 2023 to June 2025. During the verification phase, S/L/A/M/ hosted more than 80 meetings with groups including the planning committee, SPS district leaders, Westhill administrators, and Westhill staff.  Earlier this year, the State reauthorized the grant to reimburse 80% of the anticipated project budget of $446 million dollars. As of October 14th, the construction documents are completed and the project is now entering the public bidding phase.    

Limited construction work—including utility work on the east side of campus and the demolition of the old VoAg building south of the stadium on the west side of the campus—will begin in April 2026, necessitating the closure of student parking areas. Work on the new Westhill building site is scheduled to begin in June 2026, immediately following graduation. 

A “haul road” connecting Long Ridge Road to the Westhill campus is in progress as of October 2025. The haul road will provide construction delivery vehicles with direct access to the construction site without impeding traffic flow into or out of the existing Westhill campus.

The old VoAg building on the west side of the campus along Roxbury Road and part of the track will be demolished beginning in April 2026. This work is required to make room for construction trailers and staff parking. The current Westhill building will not be demolished until the new Westhill opens. 

The current Agriscience Building will be retained and integrated into the new Westhill campus design.

Educational specifications (ed specs) are a description of the general nature and purpose of a proposed school building project. Educational specifications are defined in the Connecticut General Statutes (10-287c-1). 

Every school construction grant application made to the State of Connecticut must include educational specifications approved by the local Board of Education. 

The ed specs for the new Westhill High School were initially approved by the Stamford Board of Education (vote 6-1-1) during the Board’s regular monthly meeting on May 25, 2021 (see minutes here) and revised in September 2025.  You can review the ed specs here.

The District engaged Frank Locker Educational Planning to lead the development of the educational specifications for the new Westhill. The educational specifications were developed in collaboration with the City of Stamford, Stamford Public Schools, and Westhill High School administrators, department leaders, and teachers. The Stamford BOE approved the ed specs in May 2021.

The ed specs are available to view here.

The new Westhill is designed to accommodate a maximum enrollment of 2,458 students.

The building will feature nearly 100 classrooms including general education classrooms, general science and chemistry classrooms, special education classrooms, and learning spaces to accommodate the unique needs of students enrolled in Westhill’s many career pathways programs. Please refer to the ed specs document for detailed information about the various classrooms, learning spaces, offices, etc.

The new Westhill high school will have central air conditioning.

The new Westhill high school will be accessible to people with disabilities in compliance with all applicable local, state, and federal laws.

The new Westhill will have several hundred student lockers throughout the building to be utilized by students as needed. The new Westhill will not have one-to-one lockers for every student

Floor plans are shared during various in-person and virtual meetings. 

Students and staff will continue to utilize the existing Westhill building until the new Westhill is ready for occupancy.

There is a significant amount of utility work that must be completed before construction can begin in June 2026. This utility work will occur in the area currently designated for student parking.

All on-campus student parking areas will be closed for the duration of construction and until the new Westhill opens in 2029.

Students may park off site where legally permitted.

For the 2025-26 school year, Westhill High School has issued 90 student parking passes for on-site parking. Some students also utilize street parking along Roxbury Road.

All students enrolled at Westhill High School qualify for free school bus transportation. Students are encouraged to utilize school bus transportation to get to/from school during construction. Parents/guardians may also utilize the car rider drop off and pickup process for their students.    

Student parking will reopen when the new Westhill is complete, currently scheduled for Fall 2029.

The project plan provides for on-site staff parking during all phases on the construction project.

The current Westhill site will continue to accommodate car rider drop off and pick up, though the exact location may change throughout the construction process. Families will be informed of these changes via email and social media. 

For Open School Night, parents will be able to utilize parking at Roxbury Elementary School. For Parent-Teacher Conferences and other school meetings, parents who wish to meet with their child’s teachers in person will be able to park in any open spaces in Westhill parking lots or utilize any legal off-campus parking spaces on Roxbury and Westhill Roads.

Graduation for the Class of 2026 will take place on the football field, weather permitting.

Westhill administrators are working with Stamford Public Schools and the City of Stamford to develop a plan for graduation ceremonies for the Class of 2027, Class of 2028, and Class of 2029. Families should plan on these ceremonies taking place offsite at a location to be determined. More information about future graduation plans will be shared when available. 

The front field will remain open throughout construction and will be recarpeted in time for the 2026-27 school year. The stadium facility, track, softball and baseball fields, and tennis courts will be closed in June 2026. 

The Westhill Athletic Director is working with Westhill administrators, administrators from the other high schools, district officials, and the City of Stamford to develop a plan for student athletics during construction of the new Westhill. Westhill sports teams will utilize a variety of district, city, and private venues for practices and games. More information will be shared when available. 

All available spaces are being considered, including other SPS schools, city fields, and private properties.

Once there is a plan in place for student athletics, the District will work with the SPS transportation department to develop a transportation plan for student athletics.

The existing natatorium facility with the indoor pool will remain open through June 2029.

The current design and budget includes an indoor swimming pool.

Yes, the athletic fields will be upgraded in alignment with the new building and campus.

Similar to Westhill athletics, the Westhill marching band will practice offsite beginning in July 2026. Westhill administrators are working with the Associate Superintendent for High Schools, the City of Stamford, and the BOE Facilities Officer to identify a location where the Westhill marching band and color guard will rehearse during construction.

In mid-2025, the new Westhill High School project team identified significant construction access and pedestrian safety concerns near the agriscience building, particularly in the courtyard area between the agriscience and main school buildings. These issues were identified following multiple meetings with first responders and after reviewing required construction sequencing based on the final location of the build site. 

Specifically, the agriscience building will be impacted by the construction project as follows:  

• The agriscience building is next to the entrance to the construction access road (“haul road”) through which construction vehicles will continuously travel to/from the build site.
• The courtyard between the agriscience building and the main school building is the only way emergency and construction vehicles will be able to access the south elevation of the building site. 

As such, construction vehicle access, deliveries to the existing school, and any emergency vehicle access will completely surround the existing Agriscience building, creating a significant safety concern for any students or staff trying to access the agriscience building.

District leaders, Westhill administrators, and the agriscience program director are working together to develop a plan for agriscience programming during the relocation. We are exploring all options, including keeping the entire program on site, relocating some programming to another location within Stamford, or a combination of on- and off-campus programming. Once a plan is finalized, District, school, and program leaders will meet with students and families to share details and gather feedback.  

Currently, Open Campus is a privilege afforded to upperclassmen (junior and seniors) in good academic standing. Given the loss of on-campus student parking and Westhill’s location, it is unlikely that many students will be able to take advantage of Open Campus while construction is underway. District officials are working with Westhill administrators to review any school policies and procedures that may need to  be modified during construction.