Students and staff at Scituate High School are eagerly awaiting the completion of the renovated girls’ team locker room. Local construction company APC Development Group was awarded the contract on August 7th and has worked on the project since September 12th. The renovation is scheduled to be completed sometime in January.
David Ferraro, owner and president of APC Development Group, described the collaboration with SHS as “outstanding,” saying it’s been a “good team environment.” Praising the architectural firm Habeeb and Associations, Ferraro said they were “great people to work with and a great group of designers” who were vital in the planning and overall process of the project. He added, “No obstacle became an obstacle because everybody worked hard.”
With an estimated 1.1 million dollars and an average of five workers on-site daily, the renovation has been extensive. Ferraro said the new locker room will include “all new everything.” However, he specifically highlighted the lockers and flooring. Proud of the redesigned setup and orientation of the space, Ferraro emphasized the benefits of a new team room that allows teams to “game plan to beat other towns.”
Enthusiastic about the locker room’s reopening, senior Sumner Harris looks forward to “seeing how it looks,” saying she is excited “for teams to have a designated place to get ready before games.” A member of the varsity volleyball and varsity basketball teams, Harris has spent her first two senior seasons with the locker room under construction.
According to Harris, players have shown up late to practice because everyone had to use the same restroom to change. To avoid this situation, Harris said it would have been ideal if the renovation was completed over the summer months. However, she admitted the condition of the previous locker room limited its usage: “There wasn’t much use to it, so I didn’t use it that much.” Harris noted she is “excited for younger athletes that will have it in the following years for sports.”
As the only female physical education teacher at SHS, Kathleen McCarthy may be the most affected by the renovation project. In addition to teaching physical education classes, McCarthy coaches cross country and indoor (winter) and outdoor (spring) track.
Although the locker room was previously renovated in 2001, McCarthy still sees these renovations as necessary, noting that minimal work was done before, and there was still wasted space. The new construction makes the overall space and locker storage more efficient. Handicap-accessible specifications were also included in the renovation. McCarthy is excited for athletes to have a team space that can be used to hold team meetings or pep talks before an important game.
McCarthy has been anxious about these renovations, commenting, “Everything goes in phases.” (Phase one included the physical education locker rooms, and phase two entailed the girl’s team locker room renovation.) Expressing her gratitude for the construction team, she stated, “They work harder than any construction company I’ve seen that’s worked for the school.”