Henry James Memorial School

Henry James Memorial School was originally constructed in 1957 as a high school and later became the middle school. While the building had undergone routine maintenance, the instructional spaces were largely untouched since the original construction. Consequently, the building became outdated and in need of improvement, code and accessibility updates, repair and modernization.

Downes was hired as the Construction Manager to renovate the 129,400 sf space and to build a 12,000 sf addition. The school now houses 644 students in the 7th and 8th grade.

As Construction Manager, Downes renovated and updated all regular and science classrooms to achieve a teaming model. The technology, engineering, and family and consumer sciences instructional spaces were redesigned, and a new auditorium and library/media center/learning commons were designed to fulfill the district’s learning needs.