MEMBER SIGN IN
Not a member? Become one today!
         iBerkshires     Berkshire Chamber     Berkshire Community College     City of Pittsfield    
Search
Taconic Project Passes 90 Percent Design Phase
By Andy McKeever, iBerkshires Staff
03:32PM / Tuesday, April 26, 2016
Print | Email  

The School Building Needs Commission met for the first time in 2016 to receive updates on the project.

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The 90 percent design drawings for the new Taconic High School have been submitted to the Massachusetts School Building Authority but architect Carl Franceschi says the design work is closer to 100 percent.
 
"We are actually beyond 90 percent completion of the full document," Franceschi, of Drummey Rosane Anderson, told the School Building Needs Commission on Monday.
 
By mid-June the full specifications will be completed, he said, and that's when the bidding process for the most of the work will be put to bid. The design work is continually updated and price estimated to ensure that the construction is no more than the $97.7 million allocated for the construction. The entire project will cost $120.8 million and that price is what has been approved by the City Council and the state, so construction can't exceed the $97.7 million and the entire project can't surpass $120.8 million.
 
"There was a dollar figure set months ago that this project may not under any circumstances exceed," Superintendent Jason McCandless said.
 
Four subcontracts have gone to bid with two being awarded. The 100 percent design needed for that work had already been approved by the MSBA to allow that work to start. 
 
Dale Caldwell, a consultant with Skanska USA, said Maxymillian Construction started the site work in March and that precast concrete work for the outside structure of the school was awarded to Coreslab. Concrete for the foundation has just been received with three companies putting in bids.
 
"Right now we are on budget. All three of them are on budget," Caldwell said, which means the plans do not have to be changed and re-bid.
 
The steel bids are due on Friday.
 
Dave DeForest of Gilbane, the project manager, said the work now is in the "site enabling phase," Fencing, erosion controls, tree clearing, and rocks are all being removed from the location. In June, the foundation will start to be laid while the rest of the contracts go out to bid.
 
"When the design is completed in June, we will put the rest of the packages out to bid," DeForest said.
 
Site work was approved late last year by the Conservation Commission, which issued an order of conditions for such things as water runoff. 
 
"All of the work that is going on is under their direction and guidelines, and that becomes part of the specification," Franceschi said.
 
The steel is scheduled to go up in January 2017 with a topping off ceremony. In June 2018, the building will be occupied and demolition of the current building will start. Franceschi said the furniture and equipment will go to bid and be ordered just months before moving into the new school.
 
"Furniture and equipment is procured much closer to when you are ready to move into the building," he said.
 
The final phase will be the playing fields near the school. That is expected in 2019. However, the fields really won't be usable for two years while the grass grows back.
 
"It is likely the spring of 2021 when we will be on the fields. Once they are planted, we don't want to ruin them by getting onto them too early," McCandless said.
 
McCandless added that the project doesn't include the current baseball field, varsity football field, or the track. Those are outside of the scope of the project and even if there are savings, those can't be included.
 
Director of Maintenance Denis Guyer said his department has gone through the current school and identified items worth saving for usage elsewhere. At some point between moving out of the school and the start of demolition, those items will be removed and used in other school buildings.
 
"We are going to have to be very careful in approaching the scheduling of the high-value equipment we want to take out of that," Guyer said.
 
Meanwhile, a color subcommittee has been looking at color schemes. The exact colors will depend on the companies that bid on the project.
 
"Even though we are talking about colors and, in our specification, we will put some colors, but, we can't be sure these will be the exact colors," Franceschi said.
Comments
More Featured Stories
Pittsfield.com is owned and operated by: Boxcar Media 106 Main Sreet, P.O. Box 1787 North Adams, MA 01247 -- T. 413-663-3384
© 2008 Boxcar Media LLC - All rights reserved