Following the approval of a new budget by Concord voters at special Town Meeting and the special election, the Concord Middle School project will continue to move forward with the schedule established by the project team consisting of the CMS Building Committee as well as the Owner’s Project Manager, Hill International, and architects, SMMA.
The project is now in Phase 1 which is the design and construction of the new school building. The Project Team is working to finish pre-qualifying general contractors and subcontractors and preparing bid packages to share with those entities who meet the qualifications and criteria established to perform the necessary work. The prequalification and bidding process is informed by the state’s public procurement statutes and the professional experience of project team members. The schedule calls for the project team to review the bids and to select the general contractor and construction team by the last week in April of 2023.
Groundbreaking for the new school will take place in early May and construction will last approximately 20 months with substantial completion scheduled for mid-December of 2024.
The projected school open date is Monday, Feb. 24, 2025, following February vacation, which will allow for moving of equipment, furniture, and other items while the schools are not in session. In the interim between substantial completion and school opening, punch list items will be addressed. A punch list is part of closing out a project and refers to a document that outlines work from the contract that has not been completed according to project specifications. A punch list is a standard practice in the construction industry for projects such as the new middle school building.
Phase 2 of the project, Sanborn demolition and new fields, begins in February of 2025. Demolition activities will consist of less disruptive tasks until the end of the school year in 2025 and the Sanborn structure will come down during the summer months. Substantial completion of the fields is scheduled for mid-September of 2025 and punch list items for Phase 2 will be completed by late fall of the same year. The contractor will demobilize by late fall as well. The fields will require two full growing seasons to establish and will be ready for use on Sept. 1, 2026.
Interested individuals can find all relevant materials regarding the Concord Middle School Building Committee including meeting dates, agendas, and minutes as well as reports that led to the Town Meeting warrant article at www.cmsbuildingproject.org. For questions and comments, individuals can email the committee at msbc@concordps.org or utilize the form on the web page, www.cmsbuildingproject.org.
