New Arlington HS Estimate Reveals $29.5M Gap

ARLINGTON, MA — The latest cost estimate of the Arlington High School Building Project puts it at $29.5 million above the approved project budget, officials said last week. This is due to factors such as higher estimates for HVAC, mechanical utilities and site costs, according to the Arlington High School Building Committee

"Situations like this are common for large projects and are part of the process," Town Manager Adam Chapdelaine said in a statement. "Maintaining educational components of the facility are the highest priority and the Committee remains dedicated to building an educationally exceptional facility."

The project is in the Design Development phase, which means the design will be further developed and refined. The Committee will discuss over the next several weeks how to more closely align the project with its approved budget. This will likely mean modifying the design and comparing alternatives without sacrificing "educational priorities," known as value engineering, according to the Committee.

The Committee voted Nov. 19 to adopt $3.7 million in value engineering recommendations. The Committee said the exercise is used by all construction projects regardless of estimates and is required by the Massachusetts School Building Authority.

On Nov. 18, the Select Board approved the sale of a $66,190,000 general-obligation bond to Morgan Stanley & Co. for $70,115,000, according to YourArlington. The bond includes a $56.7 million exempt debt for the Arlington High School project.