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Portland Public Schools鈥� largest modernization project is fully underway.

The ambitious renovation and expansion of 106-year-old Benson Polytechnic High School is one of the school district鈥檚 most complex projects ever. Spanning 385,000 square feet across 10 buildings, the project includes construction of three new buildings as well as rehabilitations and seismic retrofits of structures built in the early and mid-1900s.

Andersen Construction is the general contractor for the project. The 91视频 recently visited the construction site and captured glimpses of historical remnants before they were covered.

One of the project鈥檚 biggest challenges is its phases, Andersen Construction superintendent Dave Hamilton said. Typically, construction follows a sequence of excavation, foundation, framing, and roofing. However, for this seismic retrofit, the process was often reversed.

To preserve portions of historic walls around the facility鈥檚 perimeter, the brick exterior was left intact during demolition and new construction. To accomplish this, steel had to be installed before foundations could be poured, which required shoring up an entire building to excavate underneath.

Work is being carried out on 10 buildings, and each is at a different stage of construction. That is among the team鈥檚 biggest challenges, but also gives the site a unique feel, Hamilton said.

鈥淚t鈥檚 very, very rare that we鈥檙e actively doing finishes and painting in one building while we鈥檙e still doing demo abatement and excavation in another,鈥� he added. 鈥淲e鈥檝e been doing that continuously throughout the campus 鈥� working in a clockwise direction between the renovated buildings and the new buildings for about 18 months now.鈥�

Construction began in 2021 and is expected to finish by the start of the 2024-25 school year. The school will then be able to accommodate 1,700 students 鈥� a significant increase from the previous capacity of approximately 1,000.

Around 90 subcontractors are involved in the project and about 250 construction workers are on-site daily. Some are Benson High School graduates, Portland Public Schools Director of Construction Armand Milazzo said.

鈥淗ow cool is it to graduate (from) a high school and come back and modernize it years later for another hundred years and generations and kids,鈥� he added.

Several historical aspects will be preserved, including the original school building, the 94-year-old auditorium and stage, and the 98-year-old gymnasium and running track.

New elements include state-of-the-art workshops and laboratories, which will include cutting-edge equipment for students.