SEYMOUR – The Seymour Board of Selectpersons voted July 21 to hire an architectural firm to design a new Bungay Elementary School.
The board unanimously approved hiring Tecton Architects for $2.7 million based upon a recommendation from the Bungay Elementary School Building Committee.
The total estimated cost for the project is $60 million.
Tecton Architects was recently hired to design Ansonia’s new middle school slated for Pulaski Highway.
Peter Kubik, who co-chairs the building committee, said now with an architect in place, the next step is to hire a construction manager.
“It’s good to see the project moving along, and now with an architect onboard, we can move forward with a construction manager,” Kubik said.
Committee co-chairman Fred Stanek said the design work is expected to take between 12 to 15 months to complete. The new school is estimated to open in fall of 2029. An initial projected timeline had the school opening in fall of 2028. Stanek said soliciting requests for qualifications for architects took longer than planned.
Voters in Seymour approved the $60 million project in October 2025.
Stanek said the state will reimburse Seymour for 64.58 percent, or about $38.7 million, and the town will contribute about $21.3 million of the cost.
The current Bungay School is 72 years old.
The new school will be built on the grounds of the current Bungay School on Bungay Road where the existing ballfields are located.
Seymour officials would not give out the price for the architectural firm immediately after the July 21 vote. They cited an exemption regarding awarding contracts under the state’s freedom of information act. However, that same law says officials are supposed to have the town or agency’s chief executive officer certify that the need to keep the price secret outweighs the public’s right to know.
Stanek released the price on July 30, saying he wanted to wait until the contract was signed before releasing it to the public.