Neighbors of the Sidwell Friends School in Northwest are willing to let the sounds of construction consume much of their day — with the hope that a 15-hour schedule eventually will bring back the sound of silence.
The advisory neighborhood commission that oversees the school’s Wisconsin Avenue campus voted Monday to allow work on Sidwell’s middle school addition to run from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. seven days a week. With that schedule, school officials say, the project should be finished by Sept. 11, the first day of class.
“As with all construction, it’s an inexact science,” said Ellis Turner, Sidwell’s Associate Head of School. “We’re working to ensure that it will be.”
The extended hours are conditioned. Workers must be inside from 5:30 to 7 a.m., 7 to 9 p.m., and all day Sunday. Deliveries will be prohibited during the quiet hours and contractors will be required to monitor noise levels.
“The neighbors closest to it have given it their OK,” said Trudy Reeves, the ANC-3C commissioner with oversight of Sidwell. “They want to get the thing done.”
Martha Black, a Quebec Street resident, said she opposed the extension because she doesn’t expect contractors to obey the restrictions. But like other nearby denizens, Black wants the project finished as soon as possible.
“You don’t live this close to a large construction site and not pray for the day that it ends,” she said.
Sidwell, founded in 1883, is one of the District’s premier private institutions. The school broke ground in April on its 39,000-square-foot addition.
The new building will meet the Platinum LEED standard for environmental-friendliness, from an exterior clad in reclaimed cedar and recycled cotton insulation to its green roof, energy-efficient windows and photovoltaic panels, which will provide up to 10 percent of the building’s power.
Sidwell projects
» Renovation programs on D.C. and Maryland campuses will cost $80 million
» The school is raising $37 million through a capital campaign
» Remainder available through long-term borrowing and operating reserves
