Newton Country Day School Builds Wellness Center

NEWTON, Mass. — Construction on Newton Country Day School’s new Athletic & Wellness Center in Newton is progressing on schedule, and the school is less than a year away from celebrating its completion. The nearly 47,000-square-foot facility will significantly expand Newton Country Day’s wellness and athletic programs at a cost of roughly $16.5 million.

The new Athletic & Wellness Center will result in a fivefold increase in indoor space for the school’s wellness, athletic and performing arts programs. Upon completion, Newton Country Day School students will enjoy a new dance studio, four squash courts, a training room, changing rooms and bathroom facilities, a wellness lounge and classroom, a double-court gymnasium for basketball and volleyball, and a multipurpose fitness area. School staff and administrators will also be able to take advantage of new dance and athletic department offices and added storage space. These stakeholders — plus community members and other visitors — will benefit from various site developments such as improved parking and new circulation roadways.

The Athletic & Wellness Center was designed by D’Agostino Izzo Quirk of Somerville, Mass., and is being built by Erland Construction with offices in Burlington, Mass., and East Windsor, Conn. Compass Project Management of Medfield, Mass., is providing both pre-construction and construction-phase services as well as serving as the owner’s representative.

D’Agostino Izzo Quirk partnered with the school in 1997 to provide master planning services for all academic, arts and physical education facilities, and designed the school’s north addition in 2001. Erland Construction has also previously worked with the school and completed its award-winning library addition, also designed by D’Agostino Izzo Quirk, in 2007.

“We are pleased to be enhancing the beautiful campus at Newton Country Day with a facility that supports health, well-being and team spirit among the girls at this secondary school,” Erland Project Manager Elizabeth Martin said in a statement. “The wellness center will contribute to a well-rounded education for generations of NCDS students.”

Newton Country Day School is an independent Catholic school for girls in grades five through 12, and currently more than 85 percent of the student population participates in athletic programs, according to school literature. Construction crews broke ground on the center in December 2014, and the project is scheduled for completion in May 2016.