New Diman Regional Vocational Technical High School project to break ground next week

Fall River/Somerset/Westport/Swansea Mass. – A ceremony will be held Friday to celebrate the groundbreaking of the new Diman Regional Vocational Technical High School. Hosted by the Greater Fall River Vocational School District Committee, in conjunction with the School Building Committee, the event will mark the beginning of construction on a futuristic high school designed to provide a 21st century learning environment that will allow students to excel in all aspects of the academic and vocational realm.

Suffolk will lead this project as general contractor.

The event will include leaders from all sending communities, the school district and building committees, state leaders, Suffolk, the Massachusetts School Building Authority, and others who have partnered to make this monumental project a reality.

New Diman High School by the numbers as of 2022:

Enrollment: 1500 students
Total building square footage: 394,650 square feet
Total Project Cost: $293.5 million
Potential MSBA Reimbursement: 79.77% Does not include costs such as:
• Construction Cost Cap of $360/sf
• Site Cost Cap of 8%
• Hazardous Materials
• Temp Facilities
• Un-reimbursable Square Footage

POTENTIAL MSBA FUNDING: 149.7-$152.6M
ESTIMATED DISTRICT SHARE: $139.9M – $141.9M
District Funding: 49%

Estimated costs per community through property taxes (30 years)
Fall River: $6.5 million per year ($69 in property taxes for every $100,000 in home value).
Somerset: $825,000 per year, ($26 in property taxes per $100,000 in home value).
Swansea: $710,000 per year ($25 in property taxes per $100,000 in home value).
Westport: $445,000 per year ($11 in property taxes per $100,000 in home value).

The new school would be built on the current football field and is expected to be completed in mid-2027 with the project finishing with the demolition of the current school. The new building is expected to be a 50-year solution.