Construction of new Helena High underway; what’s next? 

Helena voters last summer approved over $280 million in taxes for a new Helena High School, a new Kessler Elementary school and major renovations to Capital High School. 

Now, nine months later, and after architects, engineers, district trustees and other community stakeholders have weighed in, the building phase has begun, with the new HHS groundbreaking scheduled for Tuesday evening. 

With the goal of all three projects being under construction by the end of the year, school officials hope to have the facilities operational by the fall of 2028. 

Here is what Helenans can expect to see between now and then.

HELENA HIGH, PAL AND THE DISTRICT KITCHEN

The original Helena High School building, built in 1955, faces some of the district’s most significant infrastructure deficiencies, including failing water boilers and a sinking foundation. 

The new school will be built to the right of the existing building, with plans to continue using the original gym. Once the new HHS is completed and operational, the district will demolish the old building. 

The district hired Dick Anderson Construction as the general contractor and construction manager. The district also brought on A&E + SMA Design and NAC Architecture as the primary project designers. 

When the district first campaigned for the facility bond, officials anticipated needing about $167.4 million for the new school, construction of new space for the district’s alternative high school, Project for Alternative Learning (PAL), and the new district kitchen.

The early construction phase for HHS and PAL will last through mid-July and includes site preparation, organization and setting up construction equipment, fencing and bringing in other materials. 

Project architects also anticipate completing the project’s official construction documents by Aug. 11, which are needed for permitting and in the bidding process.

Primary construction will then begin and is expected to conclude in August of 2028. 

The district also launched a livestream of the construction site so viewers could track the building’s progress.

The district kitchen, originally housed in the Capital High campus, will soon have its own building on the same property as HHS. The district is expected to seek bids for the kitchen by next week, according to Tim Meldrum of SMA. 

KESSLER ELEMENTARY

Kessler Elementary, a neighborhood school located on Helena’s west side, was built in 1936. The $42 million bond voters approved will fund an entirely new building on the same property. 

The district hired Mosaic Architecture and Crushing Terrell to design the new school, with plans to submit permit requests to the city by the first week of September. 

Golden Eagle Construction and Swank Enterprises were brought on for the project’s general contractor and construction manager.

The project team is about 50% through the building’s design and plans to break ground this October. 

CAPITAL HIGH

Capital High will be renovated, rather than demolished and rebuilt, and its students will still attend the school while construction is underway.

CHS was built in 1965 as a Catholic high school and was acquired by the school district in 1973. The building’s infrastructure needs about $14 million in deferred maintenance, along with security and electrical improvements and a new HVAC system. 

Slate Architecture and RTA Architects are leading the design for CHS, with Langlas & Associates as the project’s general contractor and construction manager. 

The high school renovation addresses the needed structural improvements and will begin with the design of temporary classrooms. Some demolition started last week. 

Temporary classrooms will be set up in the library wing, according to project architects. 

While demolition is underway, there is still design work to complete, according to project architects, and construction documents are expected to be completed by December. 

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