School Building Project Clears Two Hurdles

The Elementary School Building Committee voted on March 11 to submit the Preliminary Design Program (PDP) document to the Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA). With a vote of 11 in favor with one abstention and one absent, the vote marks the completion of the first major step in the feasibility study phase (Ellisha Walker, one of two Town Councilors on the building committee, abstained; Wildwood School Assistant Principal Allison Estes was absent).

The building committee vote followed a unanimous vote by the Amherst School Committee on March 8 to approve the educational program and accompanying space summary. The latter defined a 105,750 square foot building to meet the educational needs of the students and staff. Both votes were required by the MSBA to move to the next stage.

Six of eight sections of the 1000+ page PDP document were shared with committee members and posted to the meeting packet on the town website less than 24 hours before the meeting. 

In comments made prior to voting, Walker said,“I would have liked to have had more questions or comments about this document but because we received it yesterday and I had a very busy day, I did not have enough time to review the documentation.” New committee member Angelica Bernal agreed, saying she too would have liked to have had more time to go through the documentation.

Lead designer Donna DiNisco acknowledged the large amount of information in the PDP, but said it could not have been provided any faster than it was. She suggested that committee members could read through the material over the weekend and provide additional comments on Monday. If substantive edits are proposed, committee chair Cathy Schoen said a second vote would be needed.

The PDP forms the basis of the designer’s recommendation on what options will be evaluated in the next phase and what options will be eliminated. The document includes: the educational program, initial space summary to meet that program, an evaluation of existing conditions at both Fort River and Wildwood (buildings and sites), site development requirements, a preliminary evaluation of alternatives, a record of local actions and approvals, and appendices that include previous district and MSBA documents, a capital budget statement, meeting minutes, and presentations.

The PDP states that the town wishes to continue to evaluate the merits of four alternatives: 575-student renovation/addition options at Fort River or Wildwood, and a 575-student new-construction building at either site.

The project timeline shows that the document detailing the preferred option is to be submitted to the MSBA on June 27. It will include a determination on site and whether the preferred solution will be renovation/addition or new construction, and two or three stories.

Preliminary cost estimates included in the PDP for a combined 575-student school range from $94 million to $100 million using the Construction Manager At Risk delivery method, and $89 million to $93 million using a Design-Bid-Build delivery method. The preferred delivery method will be determined in the next couple of months.

At the School Committee meeting on March 8, DiNisco said the cost estimates at this point are “conservative,”  and added that the design firm has never had a project budget increase significantly in a later stage of the project.

“We understand these numbers are high,” she said, acknowledging that the estimates are higher than previous projections by the Town. 

DiNisco clarified that the initial site cost estimate for Fort River included replacing all of the community fields and that it will be looked at in more detail in the next phase. “Maybe we can use [Community Preservation Act ] funds or other means to recreate these fields,” DiNisco said.

The PDP will be submitted to the MSBA on March 15. The building committee next meets on March 25.