The Concord Middle School Building Committee submitted the following:

The Concord Middle School Building Committee (CMSBC) held a business meeting June 30 with an agenda that included construction cost estimates and  a discussion with two professional estimators regarding current construction market conditions.  

The estimates, based on the completed Design Development documents, came back $5.3 million over the construction budget of $80,777,447.  While committee members were aware of the many recent macro-economic factors, such as inflation, that are driving significant cost increases to gas and many construction materials, the committee asked the subject matter experts, Peter Bradley of PM&C and Peter Timothy of AM Fogarty Cost Estimating, to join them to discuss both the project and market conditions.

Bradley and Timothy confirmed that the estimates reflected increases in construction materials such as roofing, steel, glass, HVAC and electrical equipment.  Members wanted to be sure that the increases were not being driven by the overall design or design elements.  For examples, the estimators cited that roofing materials have doubled in price in recent months while glass has increased by 40% and steel by 10%.  

The original budget contemplated cost increases that would occur during the time lapse from budgeting to bidding, but the price increases in materials are beyond what both Bradley and Timothy have seen in their professional careers.

While members of the CMSBC took the further precaution of establishing a Construction Budget with a Bidding Contingency line item of $2,019,312 to potentially offset the anticipated market volatility, the delta between the estimate and the budgets remains apart even if the Bidding Contingency was factored into the construction budget.  

Members discussed next steps as well as seeking advice from the estimators on their view of the market for construction material between now and when the project goes to bid in March 2023.  

After evaluating several options with input from both the design and project management teams (SMMA & Hill), the committee voted to proceed with the current design to the 60% Construction Drawing phase and to secure another set of cost estimates which would be available in October.  This would allow the committee to secure more information and continue to watch and analyze the construction market while not making decisions to make cuts in project scope that might be unnecessary.

Committee members were also concerned about making any changes to the project scope that was presented at the Special Town Meeting prior to engaging with residents of the community.  The design team assured the committee that scope changes could be made up until October without placing a financial burden on the project budget.  

Committee members expressed a strong desire to share this latest update regarding cost estimates with the community and to engage with residents as this process moves forward.  

Upcoming Meeting: July 28, 7:30 a.m.

Agendas and zoom links can be found on both the Town of Concord’s website and the CMSBC website

at https://tinyurl.com/4kn53ns4.

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, can be found at www.cmsbuildingproject.org. For questions and comments, email the committee at msbc@concordps.org or use the form at www.cmsbuildingproject.org.