South Shore Educational Collaborative Opens

HINGHAM, Mass. — The new 86,000-square-foot South Shore Educational Collaborative (SSEC) opened last summer. It provides specialized educational and residential programs and services for about 350 students and adults diagnosed with a wide range of intellectual, educational, emotional, social, physical and/or medical challenges.
Needham Heights, Mass.-based Bowdoin Construction Corp. completed construction of the new 86,000-square-foot facility, while Hingham, Mass.-based Roth & Seelen Inc. served as the architect.
The school required a new facility after undergoing a major increase in enrollment of students who need advanced therapeutic services for physical and medical needs. The project involved converting an existing industrial warehouse into a new school. The project team renovated the existing 58,000-square-foot building and constructed a 28,000-square-foot addition. The new facility features color-coded flooring and walls to represent the different wings of the building and includes classrooms, offices, an indoor therapy pool, occupational therapy, gymnasium, locker rooms, a greenhouse, cafeteria, kitchen and bathroom facilities.
Quincy, Mass.-based FoxRock Properties, a firm that acquires develops and manages commercial property in Massachusetts, was very involved in the project. The firm helped the school examine its current space issues and identify what features were necessary for the future. Accessibility was one of the biggest factors. The new facility allows the entire school to be in one location and on one floor. Wider hallways and the absence of stairs also make the building especially helpful for students that have physical challenges such as those who need to use wheelchairs.
FoxRock Properties was so helpful that SSEC dedicated the new building in November to the company owner’s late father, Robert T. Hale Sr. “With SSEC, we saw a great opportunity to improve upon an existing space and make a real impact on the daily lives of sutdents and staff,” said Jason Ward, managing partner at FoxRock Properties. “We’re truly honored. We hope this facility is a special place for everyone who comes through those doors. To be memorialized as part of the SSEC family means the world to us.”