The School Building Committee is working on a “baseline renovation project” estimate and what such a project would need to include.
A recurring theme in public feedback from the State of the Town meeting earlier this month were questions about renovation options for the Lincoln School. The meeting was a ”big picture” look at possible configurations for the segments of the school and deliberately presented concepts for an all-new school only. In coming weeks, the SBC will examine ideas that combine different ratios of renovation and new construction.
The school needs significant renovations, but the amount of work required will automatically trigger requirements for the entire building to be brought up to current building and handicapped codes. A 2014 report by Dore & Whittier looked at various combinations of renovation and new construction and concluded that a project with required upgrades and “a la carte” educational enhancements would cost $29–$47 million, while a comprehensive project would cost $54–$66 million. However, construction costs have risen markedly since the report was issued.
“Given the various ages and conditions of different sections of the Lincoln School, renovation may be a good value in some areas and not in others,” the SBC noted it ins most recent blog post, which also has links to compilations of residents’ comments from the State of the Town.
The SBC’s next community workshop will be on Tuesday, Jan. 23, 2018. A wide range of concepts including cost estimates will be presented in detail.
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