It’s been a while since we’ve shown you what’s happening inside the new Upper School. Last week our videographer followed Principal Robbie Gross as he provided a tour of all three floors. As you’ll see, it’s coming together quickly, especially on the second and third floors. We’re on schedule to move in this summer!

Good news: the drilling of the 14 geothermal wells we discussed in the two most recent updates will wrap up today. The crew will remain on site the next two days to check and ensure that the existing wells on the site are clean; they plan to remove the drilling rig by the end of the week.

Tomorrow, the contractor will pour concrete for the bridge that will connect the new Upper School to the rest of campus. Because the well drilling was completed ahead of schedule, the concrete trucks will be able to use the 37th Street entrance to the site. Other vehicles will use the Upton Street entrance tomorrow.

There will be no work on the site on Monday, January 19.

Happy New Year. Here’s the latest on the project.

The drilling of the geothermal wells got off to a slow start over the holiday break due to issues with the drilling rig. At the end of work yesterday, the contractor has completed six of the 14 wells described in our December 23 update. The contractor now projects that drilling will be complete by the end of next week, January 16.

Work will begin soon on construction of a wide bridge that will connect the new Upper School to the rest of campus. This is necessary because of the elevation change on the property. The bridge will run from the third floor of the new Upper School to a spot on the north side of campus near the tennis courts. The contractor has tentatively scheduled the concrete pour for Wednesday, January 14. Because the drilling still be underway, the concrete trucks will need to use the Upton Street entrance. 

Lastly, and because it can be difficult to distinguish between vehicles working at different sites, it’s worth noting that a residential construction project on Tilden Street east of 37th Street has been quite active lately and has generated significant traffic and noise. Workers at the 37th Street entrance of our project do their best to keep traffic moving.

When Sidwell Friends applied and received approval for the renovation of the former nursing home on Upton Street into our new Upper School, the project plan included a future building that would be constructed between the Upper and Middle Schools.

While we have not yet developed a final design or timetable for that project, we do eventually plan to build a dual-purpose building on the site. The building will house a Quaker meeting house along with Middle School classrooms and space for other school programming. Work will not begin before 2028 at the earliest.

Today, DOEE issued a permit for the drilling of 14 geothermal wells that will support the heating and cooling of the future building. This is consistent with our commitment to environmental sustainability. The new Upper School on Upton Street and the future Lower School, which we expect to open in 2028 in the heart of campus, will also be cooled and heated using geothermal energy.

Drilling will begin tomorrow, December 24. Drilling these wells now, while the property is still a construction zone, will be less disruptive than waiting and having to work around the finished and landscaped Upper School. The drilling will be done by a single rig and, weather permitting, should take less than three weeks to complete, including work on Saturdays. 

The drilling work will block entry to the site from the 37th Street construction entrance, requiring construction access to shift to the Upton Street entrance. Once the drilling is complete, site entry will return to 37th Street.

We have an important update on the project. We learned today that Pepco has received a DDOT permit required to bring a crane to the site to install a large transformer on the north side of the building. This is a critical step to providing permanent power to the new Upper School. Because of the limited availability of the crane, Pepco has scheduled the work for this Saturday, December 13. 

The crane will be set up along the curb on Upton Street just west of the entrance. No parking signs for that day will be put up by Friday. Pepco’s team will arrive around 7 a.m. to prepare for the arrival of the crane around 8 a.m. Pepco estimates the crane will be on site for 4 hours or less. Crews will remain on site for the rest of the day.

In other news, we are pleased to share that the base asphalt pavement was completed before Thanksgiving. As a result, neighbors should see fewer trucks arriving and leaving the site until final paving takes place a few months from now. We can also report that the storm sewer tie-in at the main construction entrance off 37th Street is complete.

We’ve been fortunate to have had some favorable weather this fall, which has kept things moving nicely on project. Here are some updates we’re pleased to share as we approach the Thanksgiving holiday.

• Topping out ceremony. On November 7, our architects, contractors, project managers, and others involved in the new Upper School project celebrated the traditional topping out of the new building. Topping out ceremonies mark the completion of a building’s highest point and recognize and honor the construction workers. We thank everyone for their incredible efforts to get us to this point.
   
• Thanksgiving shutdown. All work will pause for the Thanksgiving holiday: November 27-30.  Construction activities will resume on Monday, 12/1.
   
• Hardscape and paving. We began preparations for asphalt paving and associated hardscape work this past week. Dump truck deliveries will continue through next two weeks to put down a crushed stone base, followed by asphalt placement. Please note that ongoing utility work (see below) at the 37th Street entrance may on occasion require that trucks use the Upton Street entrance.
   
• Utility work. Starting December 1, Pepco’s utility contractor is scheduled to install the primary power cable to the site and place the building’s power transformer inside the building. They expect this work to take three days. Pepco’s contractor will use a DDOT-permitted crane to set the power transformer on its base. The crane will be along Upton Street.
   
• Traffic management. Some neighbors have contacted us about traffic issues at or around the corner of 37th and Tilden Streets. This is a tricky intersection where vehicles going to and from Hearst Elementary School and Sidwell Friends Middle School in the morning and afternoon converge with neighborhood cars and construction vehicles for our project and neighboring projects. It has been further complicated by some of the utility work taking place at that entrance to our project. We’ve received a few reports of trucks idling near the intersection and have reviewed hours of security footage to learn more. Some of those trucks were associated with our project, but others were related to other nearby projects. 
  
  In response to this, our contractor will increase the monitoring of that intersection, send away trucks that are waiting there, post prominent signs outlining the terms of the community agreement and including penalties for contractors who violate them, and identify nearby construction sites that are using heavy trucks.

We’ll be back in December with another update. Until then, we wish everyone a happy Thanksgiving.

Good news: The well-drilling contractor has completed work on the relocated geothermal well and the drilling rig is gone. 

Please note that with the support of the Advisory Neighborhood Commission (ANC), the District Department of Buildings has approved a permit for interior and exterior work to take place ( 9 a.m.-7 p.m.) on Monday, 13 October. 

Work began this week on the storm utility connection at the 37^th Street driveway entrance and is projected to be done by or soon after October 17.

An update to our September 18 post: Pepco has finished the delayed electrical conduit work along 37th Street. The next step is for them to pull the cables through the conduit and onto the construction site. They have not yet provided dates for that work. 

Inside the building, much of the drywall is now installed and the spaces are beginning to be recognizable as future classrooms, offices, common areas, and the like. We’re on target for moving in next summer in time for the start of school in September, 2026.

The project team met with contractors this week to discuss traffic flow around the site, specifically along 37^thStreet. As everyone in the neighborhood knows, the narrow roadways in the area can get tight during school pick-up and drop-off times at Sidwell and Hearst. Our general contractor, MCN Build, will monitor traffic closely at the intersection of 37^th and Tilden streets to ensure that trucks coming to our site don’t linger. We also have instructed contractors working for Pepco to park their vehicles inside the construction site whenever possible.

Next week, the contractor that drilled the 120 geothermal wells on the site last year will return with a drilling rig to relocate one of those wells. We don’t yet know what day that will take place.

Finally, we are working to bring a third streaming camera online to give neighbors a closer look at the 37^th Street entrance to the site. We’ll post when that goes live.

We have two updates today:

• Our contractor will be working Saturdays (8 a.m.-5 p.m.) starting September 20 and continuing through November 22. The work will focus on circuit piping to connect the geothermal wells, utilities, façade masonry, and grading and preparing the new building entrance along Upton Street. The DC Board of Zoning approved up to 24 Saturday days of work for the project and this will be the first use of those days since we started in June 2024.
• We continue to await word from PEPCO on they will perform the delayed electrical conduit work along 37th Street. We are hopeful the work will begin within by the end of the month. It should take less than two weeks to complete. We’ll advise if there’s a material change to that schedule.

It’s the first day of classes at Sidwell Friends and we thought it would be a good time to show the progress on our new Upper School. As you can see, the central staircase is now visible, and workers are continuing to frame and insulate hallways, classrooms, offices, and open spaces. New windows are going in and the cafeteria addition is beginning to take shape. It’s hard to imagine, but this will be home less than a year from now.

Problems with the drilling rig have delayed work on the six geothermal wells noted in the last update. The contractor now expects that the crew will complete the final three wells by the end of next week. The rig will then be moved to an area close to the tennis courts behind 3939 Wisconsin Avenue to drill a test well. The results of the test will help in planning for the geothermal installation that will be part of the renovation of the current Upper School into the future Lower School. That project is slated to begin in 2026.

We have a few construction updates on the project.

On July 11, our contractor pruned several large trees along Upton Street on the inside of the property line to lighten the tree canopy. Trees in the median street between the sidewalk and street are the responsibility of the Department of Transportation and the department’s arborist has informed us that their team plans to begin pruning those trees soon, possibly by the end of this week.

Last November and December, a contractor drilled 120 geothermal wells for a geothermal system that will head and cool the building. This week the contractor will return to drill the remaining six wells that were not accessible at the time. Those will be drilled on the west side of the site nearest to the main Sidwell campus, farthest from any neighboring homes. The work will be done with a single drilling rig and at an expected average of one well per day, the work should be completed by the end of the month.

Rainy weather has slowed progress on the utility work and the stormwater and sewer connections along 37^th Street. You can expect that work to continue into August.

Shortly before 2 p.m. on Friday, July 18, workers at the new Upper School construction site accidentally breached a natural gas line near 37^th Street. The contractor called 911 immediately and notified Sidwell Friends summer camp staff in the nearby Middle School building. The contractor also closed 37^th Street to traffic and attempted to notify the closest neighbor, who was not home at the time. The DC Fire Department responded promptly and secured the area. The Sidwell Friends Security Office made an all-campus announcement and evacuated the lower part of campus closest to the leak.

The Fire Department gave the all-clear at 2:55 p.m.

In reviewing the incident, we learned that the gas line had not been property marked. Washington Gas has conducted a full sweep of the area to ensure that all lines are now properly marked.

We apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused.

Here are the latest updates on the project.

Workers will be on site on Thursday, June 19. The Department of Buildings last week gave the okay to a special permit for work on the holiday after receiving approval from our local Advisory Neighborhood Commission.

Work continues on the underground utility infrastructure for the building. Water main lines and storm and sewer pipes are being installed across the site. And new water and sewer connections will be made near the 37th Street entrance.

This summer, the contractor will begin connecting the 120 geothermal wells that were dug last November and December into a unified geothermal system that will cool and heat the building.

On the south side of the project, crews last week began to install a stormwater line along the edge of the tennis courts. That is an important precursor to the construction of a new pedestrian bridge that will connect the new Upper School with the rest of the campus.

On the new Upper School itself, workers have begun replacing windows; all the building’s windows will be replaced before the school opens. Inside, partition walls for classrooms, offices, and restrooms are going up and installations of mechanical, electrical, and plumbing systems continue apace.

The start of work to install conduit for the future electrical connection to PEPCO’s infrastructure on 37th Street has been delayed pending final permits. PEPCO now forecasts that the work will begin in early July and continue into August. We will advise when we get more specifics on the timing.

We have a few project updates for you.

Starting next week, we will see a temporary increase in concrete deliveries. The concrete is for the ground level of the building, where the previous floor was removed to replace old waste and storm lines. MCN, our contractor, will continue to manage truck traffic carefully to minimize disruptions on 37^th Street as much as possible.

Work continues along 37^th Street on the installation of the building’s new electric power supply. Soon, the contractor will begin digging trenches for conduit that will protect the underground power cables. Temporary fencing has been installed to ensure that the trenches are at a safe distance from the protected tree zone. MCN will ensure that the area has proper signage and safe pedestrian access along the sidewalk during this time. Pepco will install the power cables later this year once the building’s new electrical room is ready.

Lastly, we’re sorry to say that the project team has determined, and the District Department of Transportation (DDOT) arborist has agreed, that one of sweetgum trees along Upton Street, facing the 38^th Street intersection, will need to be removed. The tree in question is too close to an existing sewer manhole that is need of repair or replacement. The tree will be removed in the coming weeks.

Work continues apace on the new Upper School as spring approaches. Inside the building, there’s a lot of new framing in place, and visitors are beginning to imagine some of the new spaces. Here are a few other updates:

• Pepco will begin work next week on installing new electric service conduits to the site. The new protective fence installed this week along 37^th Street near Upton Street will keep this area safe while that work is going on. We expect this work to continue through much of April.
• The utility contractor has begun installing storm drainage pipes on the site; that work will continue through the summer.
• Crews are still pouring concrete foundations that will support new areas of construction. We expect structural steel to go up in areas of new construction beginning the week of March 24. 
• Work on the building façade will begin in April and continue into the fall.

The favorable weather we experienced during the fall has given way to what we hope is a relatively brief winter cold spell. But work on our new Upper School proceeds apace. Here’s the latest:

• The job site will be closed on Monday, January 20.
• Work crews will be demolishing a portion of the retaining wall between the Upton building and the rest of the campus through the end of January. This is near where the now-demolished systems wing of the building used to stand.
• Also this month, electric service lines will be installed from the existing PEPCO switch on 37^th Street through the site to the north wing of the building.
• Workers will begin installing micropile foundation supports for the new cafeteria and stairwell additions late next week. This work will continue through mid-February.
• When that is complete, contractors will pour the concrete foundations. 

Looking further ahead:

• February - June: Installation of structural steel in the areas of new construction.
• April - September:  Work on the building façade, including areas of new construction.
• May - December 2025:  More utility installation.

Good news! Contractors will finish drilling the geothermal wells on Monday, December 9. Demolition of the HVAC systems wing of the building is progressing well and will wrap up on Friday, December 13. With that, two of the most impactful activities associated with the project will be complete.

Two other pieces of work will wrap up before the holidays:

• Demolition of a portion of the back (campus) side of the building
• Grading of the site and the removal of asphalt and some curb and gutter sections. 

Both are scheduled to be complete by Friday, December 20.

The installation of micropiles on the south (campus) side of the property that will support the new cafeteria addition has been pushed to January.

The construction site will be closed on Christmas and New Year’s Day.

Here’s our latest progress video. Demolition of the large HVAC systems wing of the building on the south (campus) side of the site is underway. Well over half of the 120 geothermal wells are now complete, and drilling is on schedule to wrap up on or around December 9. Inside the building, workers are framing classrooms, labs, offices, and common spaces. Happy Thanksgiving to all!

Due to the acceleration of the geothermal well drilling from winter/spring of 2025 to the fall of 2024, the contractor has updated the schedule of work for the coming months. The schedule below replaces the one we posted on August 12.

• Now – Early December 2024: Continuation of the drilling of geothermal wells
• Now – Early December 2024: Complete demolition of the two-story central plant on the south (campus) and east (37^th Street) side of the property. This structure houses the heating and air conditioning systems that will be replaced by the geothermal system.
• November – December 2024: Installation of micropiles on the south (campus) side of the property that will support the new cafeteria addition
• January – April 2025: Installation of structural steel in areas of new construction
• January – July 2025: Work on building façade, including areas of new construction
• July – November 2025: Installation of utilities on the project site.

The drilling for the micropiles will take place primarily on the south and east side of the campus and will generate much less noise than the drilling of the geothermal wells.

As of November 14, the contractor has completed drilling more than 50 of the 120 wells and that number is increasing by five each day. We are still on track to complete the drilling on or about December 9.

Washington Gas advised our contractor today that it will be closing Quebec Street in the vicinity of 37^th Street next week (October 21-25) as part of the ongoing Washington Gas project. Construction vehicles needing access to Sidwell’s new Upper School project will use the detour route Washington Gas has provided.

One of the features of the new Upper School is a system of geothermal wells that will use the constant temperature of the earth below ground to heat and cool the building. The drilling of these wells is a major component of the project. In all, there will 120 wells around the building, averaging about 600 feet in depth.

Drilling these wells is loud work. The original construction timetable called for that work to take place over 18 weeks in the spring of 2025. But our contractor recently presented us with the opportunity to reduce the duration of the work to six weeks, thanks to the unexpected availability of three additional drilling rigs.

To take advantage of the opportunity, drilling work will begin on October 28 and, barring an unforeseen issue, will be completed by December 9. An added benefit of this project acceleration is that the drilling will coincide with the demolition of the east (37^th Street) side of the building, which is set to begin on October 21 and end by Thanksgiving.

In all, this change will reduce the total duration of loud, project-related noise to six weeks from the original expectation of more than five months—one month for building demolition and four months for well drilling.

There will be no work, either drilling or demolition, on Thanksgiving or the Friday after. 

We appreciate your understanding as we move through this process. The new Upper School, which has been designed to meet LEED Gold certification, will significantly reduce our school’s carbon usage. As an added long-term benefit, the geothermal system will eliminate the need for roof-top cooling towers and the constant noise they create.

An update to our September 27 post: demolition of the east (37^th Street) side of the building is now scheduled to begin the week of October 21. That’s a delay of one week. The contractor expects to complete the work by Thanksgiving. This work will be loud at times, particularly around the end of the month and early November, when the concrete is broken up for removal.

In the meantime, tree removal and wood chipping around the building is scheduled to be complete by the end of October.

During the week of October 14, work will begin on a significant milestone in the Upton project: the demolition of a large portion of the east (37th Street) side of the building. This wing served as the main entrance for the former nursing home, contained several multi-purpose rooms that were used as Sidwell Friends classrooms in recent years, and housed the building’s heating and air conditioning systems. In all, the section being demolished represents about 18 percent of the building’s current footprint. The contractor estimates that the work will take about four weeks. Two excavators with grab buckets will perform the demolition while workers spray water to keep the dust down. The loudest part of the demolition will be in the second to third week, when the contractor breaks up the concrete foundation and hauls the debris offsite. When the demolition is complete, workers will remove a large underground fuel oil storage tank. The new Upper School will be entirely heated and cooled using geothermal energy.

As some of you may have noticed, Washington Gas is preparing to make improvements to its underground infrastructure at and around the intersection of Quebec Street and 37^th Street. Washington Gas says the work will continue for 10-12 weeks. This is unrelated to our Upton Street project.

We have three post-Labor Day updates:

• Interior demolition on the first floor of the Upton building will wrap up by the end of the week.
• You may see some electrical work taking place this month. Today, September 3, PEPCO technicians will disconnect the building’s electrical transformer, which sits near the sidewalk on 37th Street. To maintain power, the contractor will install a temporary generator near the loading dock on the east side of the building, closer to the Sidwell Friends campus. That unit will run only during construction hours and will be screened to minimize noise. Then, later in September, PEPCO will install new—still temporary—service to a shed adjacent to the 37th Street entrance that will replace the generator as the primary power source.
• The contractor will meet with city inspectors in early September as a prelude to installation of fencing, wood chips, and a watering system to protect existing trees, including special and heritage trees. Later this month, workers will install erosion and siltation control measures around the property.

Wonder what’s happening inside the Upton building? Here’s a glimpse, captured this week by our digital producer. A LOT has changed since June!

We have received a list of projected start and end dates for some of the major work on the project that is most likely to create above-average noise levels on the worksite. As the start date for each of these activities approaches, we will provide more detailed information.

• Late August – October 2024: Demolition of a portion of the building on the east (37^th Street) side
• October – December 2024: Installation of micro-piles that will support areas of new construction
• October 2024 – May 2025: Work on building façade, including areas of new construction
• December 2024 – March 2025: Installation of structural steel in areas of new construction
• July – November 2025: Installation of utilities on the project site.
• March – August 2025: Digging of geothermal wells

This morning a crane operator arrived on campus at 6:15 a.m., long before the agreed-upon start time of 10 a.m. The crane was on campus to do work at the Middle School unrelated to the Upton project. We apologize for the noise this caused and the contractor that hired the crane has apologized as well.

Progress continues on the interior of the building. Demolition underway and will be completed by the end of August. Removal of asbestos by a licensed abatement contractor is scheduled to end in mid-August. Here’s a list of other work that will taking place over the summer:

• Early August: Workers will begin digging plumbing pipe trenches in the existing 1^st floor concrete slab floor; that work will continue through early September.
• Early August: Installation will begin of erosion and siltration control measures surrounding the site. This will consist of a black mesh-fabric fence and filter barriers at the stormwater drains along the road.
• Mid August: Tree-protection work will begin, consisting of special fencing, woodchips, and regular watering to project existing trees, including many special and heritage trees.
• Late August: Crews will removal of the existing underground fuel storage tank adjacent to the building and begin demolition of a section of the building on the eastern (37^th Street) side.

Work to renovate the building began in June 2024 with the installation of a protective perimeter fence. The new Upper School will open in time for the start of the 2026-27 academic year.