The new O’Connell Street Public School was built on the site of the old Kings School in Parramatta and involved the restoration of the existing heritage-listed buildings constructed from 1838 to 1971, together with a variety of new school buildings and extensive landscaping over a large site. It was the first of its kind incorporating state-of-the-art technology for students to engage with, while also strongly promoting the development of a strong multicultural facility.
The site was of high historical significance for both Aboriginal and early European settlement, with all external works under constant supervision by archaeologists.
The contract was lump sum and the school was constructed in 46 weeks in readiness to accept students on 30 January 2018.
During the early stages of the project, the client increased the contract scope in value by 30 per cent without an extension of time. This required the builder to introduce working extended hours and seven days a week.
The project was constructed under extremely tight timeframes, encountering major design issues and numerous unexpected historical finds. It was to the credit of the site team and all project stakeholders who worked collaboratively together to see that this project was completed on time and to such a high quality and standard of workmanship and that the heritage buildings were refurbished and restored to be part of a 21st century school.