And Sterley – The architectural firm working on the school building project is nearing completion of a report on current conditions and expects to meet with officials and possibly students next week.
The meetings will help JCJ Architecture representatives to better deal with what schools need, and the information and data developed during previous projects. Voters rejected project proposals in 2016 and 2019. Members of the School Committee’s School Buildings Subcommittee hope to have a new project proposal ready in time for inclusion in the November ballot as a question for the referendum.
“We have to understand the information that you have already collected and discussed and what has been found. It is critical for us to build on the work you have already done,” Kristen O’Hare, Senior Project Manager at JCJ Architecture, said during a subcommittee meeting on Wednesday.
O’Hare said the education planner working with JCJ Architecture is also working on deciding conditions.
The subcommittee hopes to hold two public forums in early February to review the education plan that will serve as the basis for the project. The forums will also include a discussion of degree composition. The two projects selected by the subcommittee for further consideration include the transfer of eighth graders from Western Prep and admission to an academy at Babcock Hall at Westerley High School. The two projects also call for the closure of State Street School for students. One plan will use part of the State Street School for administrative offices.
Building Subcommittee Chair Justin Hopkins said the forums will give residents and parents an opportunity to present their ideas on grading and share potential project ideas. Hopkins said the final plan would likely happen in late spring or early summer and then appear on the ballot.
While the process will build on some of the information and conclusions developed during previous projects, there will be new aspects as well. For example, Joseph DeSantis of Downes Construction, the company that acts as a project manager for the owner, said the COVID-19 pandemic has brought sweeping changes to the design. While office settings previously relied on open spaces separated by booths, the pandemic is making single desks a desirable approach, DeSantis said.
Likewise, he said, unopened windows have become the most common approach in school construction, but the pandemic has caused the need for windows to open and close to provide fresh air circulation.
Bradford resident William Aiello reiterated his request to the Subcommittee to consider including the former Bradford Primary School building in the project. The building was decommissioned as a school in the spring of 2017 and the city council recently discussed the sale of the building and the property around it.
The school division’s facilities director has requested permission to work with Downes Construction to evaluate a proposed project to remove floor tiles and asbestos in gyms at Dunn’s Corners School and State Street School. Pagano said the cost of the work was estimated at $157,968, but bids came in at $247,000. Hopkins, who is an architect, said the price increases are affecting projects across the region.
“The market is very crowded. Almost every project in our office is going through either supply chain or cost escalation issues. It is spread across the market. Hopefully we will see some stabilization soon,” Hopkins said.
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