A new $10 million cafeteria project at Chelsea High School should be ready for its grand opening in November, according to school officials.
During last week’s school committee meeting, school district finance director Monica Lamboy updated members on the status of the project.
“I think this is going to be a really transformational project for the school and for the district as a whole,” said Lamboy.
Work is well underway on the project, with the existing cafeteria demolished and construction undergoing on the new cafeteria and kitchen, as well as a counseling and social work office. During the fall, students are using three large tents outside the school as dining spaces, and are also allowed to eat in the bleachers, Lamboy said.
“We began in the fall of 2022 with listening sessions with students and with teachers, and we heard a lot about the problems with the cafeteria,” Lamboy said. “It was too crowded, there were literally not enough seats for people to sit, the number of food options were limited, and people had to wait in line for long periods of time.”
The high school was originally built to accommodate 1,000 students, and now has a population of nearly 1,700 spaces, Lamboy said. While classroom space has been added to the school, the cafeteria remained undersized, with only 325 seats to handle lunch services of 500 to 600 students.
The new dining area will have 500 seats, Lamboy said, including some alternative seating options. The project will also double the size of the kitchen, and lengthen the serving line so more students can be served at one time.
“It will allow us to put more food out at the lines for the students to move through them faster,” Lamboy said.
The project budget is $10 million, but Lamboy said the lion’s share of the funding comes from food service revenue as well as Covid-relief funding that was earmarked for the schools and the city.
Construction began the day after students left the school in June, Lamboy said, and crews from West Construction have been working double shifts and on weekends to get the project completed as quickly as possible. Lamboy said the project is on track for a grand opening in November.
“It’s been a major team effort, and I hope people will be happy with the outcome when we are all done,” said Lamboy.
School committee member Katherine Cabral praised the project for including more social spaces for students.
“This is such a welcoming space,” said Cabral. “I can’t wait for our students to be able to convene in these social spaces and really build community; and the fact that it is so focused on being environmentally friendly is something that is really huge.”
Superintendent of Schools Dr. Almi Abeyta echoed Cabral’s sentiments about adding more usable social space to the high school.
“We just did the library last year and what we are finding is that everybody wants to be in the newly remodeled library. So maybe now with this entire large area and space with the cafeteria people will want to be down there as well.”