Building Officials Close Arlington HS Cost Gap

ARLINGTON, MA — The Arlington High School Building Committee closed the remaining $24.7 million gap between the project budget and the latest Design Development estimate Dec. 18. After the project entered the Design Development phase, during which the design becomes more detailed, the new cost estimate was $29.5 million above the project budget.

Over the course of five meetings, the Committee modified the design and scope of the project and used the "value engineering" process to close the nearly $30 million gap.

Changes with the most cost savings included reducing the number of geothermal wells while still achieving carbon-neutral sustainability goals; modifying exterior brick selection; removing lights for the new athletic fields (lighting infrastructure and artificial turf surface remain); eliminating Minuteman Bikeway connector ramp; and eliminating the east staircase and ramp connecting Mass. Ave. to the fields.

The Building Committee may choose to list some of the items removed from the project as "alternates," allowing them to be included later in the project if the budget allows.

"We achieved our goals of maintaining the educational program and building quality," AHS Building Committee Chair Jeff Thielman said in a statement. "The competitive and volatile construction market made it a challenge, but we are pleased with the result."

In the coming weeks, the design team will submit the Design Development documents
to the MSBA for review while continuing to prepare construction documents. As additional details of the design are finalized, two more estimates will be done around April and July. Both estimates will be subject to the same value engineering process as required by the MSBA.

If either estimate is higher than the approved budget, the Building Committee will again need to determine how to close the gap. Project pre-work is still anticipated to begin in mid-February and construction in October 2020.