An illustration of where the modular classrooms and temporary parking will be located.
The first visible sign of the start of the $93.9 million school project will appear in the center ballfield shortly after the Fourth of July, when the six-month task of installing temporary classrooms will begin.
The modulars will be home for the Kâ4 students during the 2020-21 and 2021-22 school years. The total cost for the classrooms and associated work is about $4.53 million, according to School Building Committee Vice Chair Kim Bodnar. This includes units themselves and also delivery and setup of the modular classrooms and their removal at the end of the project, as well as utility connections and a temporary parking lot for 45 cars.
The center playing fields will be closed on July 5 and the site work for the modulars will be contained inside a temporary construction fence. Installation is due to be completed by the end of 2019. The Smith playing fields and the Codman field will remain open, as will the smaller playing field to the south of the modulars.
A view inside one of the modular classrooms at Hanscom Primary School.
The Brooks auditorium and Reed Gym will be closed for renovations in 2020-21, and the Smith fields will go out of commission in 2021-22. Codman Pool and the adjacent field will remain open for the entire school project which is expected to finish in time for the start of the 2022-23 school year.
The projected cost for the modulars was initially much higher than budgeted â $1.68 million in June 2018 vs. $4.62 million in the fall. The total estimate for the project had also increased to about $9 million over the budget approved by voters last June. As part of its cost-cutting value-engineering process, the SBC trimmed several items and expected to make up the shortfall on the modulars by negotiating less expensive units.
Last week, the SBC approved a contract for the modulars after at least one of the three bids came in under budget. Construction manager Consigli Construction will oversee the installation of the modular classrooms by vendor/subcontractor J&J Construction.
This chart shows where grade will be located at various stages of the school project (click to enlarge).
As part of the permitting process for the project, the Conservation Commission will hold a second hearing and vote on the plans for the temporary classrooms on Wednesday, May 22. That same night, the SBC will see the latest updates to the exterior elevations, floor plans, and site plans. Both groups will meet in the Town Office Building due to the student art show at Hartwell.