Hodgson Vo-Tech High School

The new Paul M. Hodgson Vocational Technical High School represents a major investment in the future of career and technical education in Delaware. EDiS served as Construction Manager for the approximately $217 million project, delivering a modern facility designed to support both Hodgson’s academic curriculum and its wide range of career and technical education programs.

Replacing a facility that had served the New Castle County Vocational Technical School District community for approximately 50 years, the new Hodgson was designed around the way students learn today and the skills they will need tomorrow. Traditional academic spaces are paired with 15 vocational shop areas and specialty learning environments for programs ranging from culinary arts and automotive technology to dental assisting, veterinary technology, advanced manufacturing, and other skilled trades. Throughout the planning process, the team focused on creating professional-grade environments that would more closely reflect the workplaces students will encounter after graduation.

The new school also includes contemporary classrooms and laboratories, collaborative learning areas, a gymnasium, auditorium, interior courtyards, student support spaces, and other amenities designed specifically around Hodgson’s programs and school community. The diversity of those spaces made coordination especially important, with each career and technical education area requiring its own combination of equipment, utilities, ventilation, power, and specialty systems.

EDiS’ Advanced Modeling and Planning (AMP) team was involved early in the process, using BIM coordination to identify conflicts and coordinate the building’s complex systems before installation. That work continued into the field through verification of critical conditions and building scans, helping the team minimize rework and maintain quality across a large and highly specialized facility.

Careful planning and value management were equally important. An aggressive bidding and procurement strategy generated approximately $13 million in savings during bidding, allowing the District to reinvest in its educational mission and add approximately 12,000 square feet of CTE program space through alternates. Additional value engineering during construction generated further savings without sacrificing performance or quality. Those efforts also helped support priorities including Sean’s Room and Hodgson’s Veterinary Technology program.

The project team also faced significant schedule challenges, including more than 100 weather-impacted days during construction. Rather than allowing those delays to dictate the completion date, the team developed a flexible sequencing strategy that kept multiple areas of the building moving simultaneously. Through detailed planning, phased testing and turnover, and close coordination with trade partners, the team absorbed the equivalent of roughly three months of weather impacts and still delivered the school on schedule for its August 2026 opening.

Hodgson also created opportunities that extended beyond the building itself. A pilot Disadvantaged Business Enterprise initiative established a 7% participation goal for the project; through deliberate outreach and engagement, participation ultimately reached approximately 38%. The effort demonstrated how a major public construction project could expand opportunities for disadvantaged businesses while maintaining a competitive procurement process.

Perhaps the project’s most fitting workforce initiative was its student co-op program. Working with the District and Delaware Department of Labor, 27 Hodgson students and two students from St. Georges Technical High School participated directly on the jobsite, recording more than 20,000 co-op hours. Students gained real-world experience alongside professional tradespeople while helping build the school that would serve them and future generations—a unique connection between the construction process and Hodgson’s workforce-development mission.

Delivering a project of this magnitude required an exceptional level of collaboration among the District, design professionals, craftspeople, subcontractors, vendors, school staff, students, and the EDiS project team. Despite the complexity of the work, significant weather impacts, and an immovable school opening date, the new Hodgson opened as planned for the 2026–2027 school year.

Following completion of the new school, work transitioned into the next phase of the campus transformation: demolition of the former Hodgson building and development of new athletic fields and associated site improvements.

More than a new high school, Hodgson represents an investment in students, educators, workforce development, and Delaware’s future skilled workforce. The finished facility reflects the District’s vision for a school where career and technical education is central to the building’s identity, providing students with the spaces, tools, and experiences to prepare for the opportunities ahead.

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