The 1,600-page schematic design for a new Pollard Middle School has been submitted to the Massachusetts School Building Authority, which will spend the next two months reviewing the plan before voting in late August on whether to approve the project’s scope and budget.
This is the culmination of more than a year’s work that began with a feasibility study, with the planning done primarily from the outside in. But at its June 22 meeting, the School Building Committee took a deeper look at the proposed school’s interior.
Once the major decision was made to construct a new school rather than do an addition/renovation of the existing 70-year-old facility, the first order of business was to pick a location. After considerable debate, the rear of the current Pollard site was chosen over a parcel within DeFazio Park.
That was followed by carving out the footprint for the new school, identifying construction staging areas and deciding how parking, traffic circulation and other necessities such as geothermal wells would be accommodated — all while being cognizant of neighborhood impact and that construction will occur adjacent to an occupied school.
The interior of the school, which was studied on a parallel track, came front and center before the SBC on the night it voted to finalize the schematic design.
“This is a large school at 260,000 plus square feet, probably going to be the second largest building in the town,” project designer Matt LaRue of HMFH Architects told the SBC in a presentation of the major interior elements.
“A lot of what we’re doing is trying to make an environment for the middle school students that overcomes any of the challenges of being in such a large building.”
The design was driven by the School Committee’s educational plan. It does not add any new programming elements from what is currently offered at Pollard and the High Rock sixth-grade center, which combined contain nearly 250,000 square feet of space.
SBC members described the design as “stunning,” “phenomenal” and “beautiful.” But they also expressed some qualms over whether it was the right fit for a middle school.
“This is really neat,” said SBC member Stuart Chandler. “It is phenomenal. But I look at a middle school versus a college and I think this is a university college kind of atmosphere.”
He and others commented about the extensive use of glass and the high ceiling in the panoramic main entrance, which features bridgeways overhanging a 42-foot floor-to-ceiling space at the main entrance.
“The big theme we’ve been trying to instill is wayfinding and a sense of orientation within the building,” LaRue said of the dramatic view at the entrance located at the school’s third-floor on the sloped site.
“I think it gives you a good understanding of the layout of the building. You understand there’s a space to the right which is the gymnasium, the auditorium is to the left and the void space in between is the connector with the dining space on the first floor,” LaRue said as he guided the committee through various interior views.
There is a “generous amount of glass looking out into the courtyard, and you’re seeing the two wings. So immediately you understand where you’re able to go within the building.”
The atrium, or “hub space” as LaRue described it, features glass bridgeways suspended from hangers instead of standard hallways posted to the sidewalls.
“Is there a safety concern with all that glass and that space and height for this age group, versus having the bridges up against the wall?” asked Chandler.
“Not an unexpected concern,” LaRue acknowledged, adding that similar bridgeways at other schools have not resulted in safety issues. That includes the Chapman Middle School in Weymouth, also designed by HMFH and which has been held out as a model of sorts by the School Committee.
“Kids at that age might be running around, throwing stuff over the edge. Teachers are going to have their hands full,” said Chandler.
“I had the same reaction Stuart did,” added SBC member Irwin Silverstein. “This is beautiful, but I’m wondering how high is the wall along the bridgeway?”
LaRue said code requires that a wall be 3.5 feet, but the Pollard design calls for a 4-foot wall along the bridgeways, which will be 65 feet in length along each side of the atrium.
“It’s a tough sell to say this is what our middle school should look like,” said John Connelly, the Finance Committee’s non-voting representative on the SBC.
“Safety and cost wise, it just seems like a very difficult thing to tell people that’s what we’re doing.”
Brendan O’Malley of Bond Construction, the project’s contractor, responded by saying the hanging bridgeways are more cost effective than traditional alternatives.
“I’m not sure that there’s a big difference in cost if you did it another way,” added LaRue. “We have a distance dictated by the site that we have to traverse in the building, whether it’s a hallway or a bridge.”
“The glass is not a done deal either,” he said, adding it could be metal or other materials. It is one of many design elements subject to possible change after value engineering and other reviews.
LaRue contended bridgeways better accommodate the flow of movement when more than 1,300 students move between classes. Limiting the bridgeways, he said, “would contribute to the time transitioning between classes, and you would end up with more traffic jams because you’re forcing everybody into two stairs.”
He also said, “In cases of emergencies, it would be better to have those bridges because there’s multiple options for how to get out.”
Budget questions as well
Connelly repeated a concern he raised at the June 17 Finance Committee meeting about what he sees as overly generous contingency spending built into the current $325.4 million budget.
Contingencies are allocations set aside within the project budget to cover unforeseen costs, risks and changes that arise during design and construction. If contingencies do not arise, those allocations are not made and the project cost lessens.
“When you add up all the categories of contingencies, of our $325 million there is in excess of $50 million that is being held in various categories of contingencies,” Connelly said.
“I understand the need for contingencies. I’m not arguing against contingency. I’m arguing against the amounts of each of those contingencies and the role that those amounts play in allowing us to be as sharp and direct as we need to be.”
SBC member George Kent defended the contingency allocations, noting “that’s how we’ve done it on every project, and this hasn’t been an exception.”
Connelly did not dispute that, saying “I’m not arguing about your effectiveness because it’s clearly uber effective. I’m just asking you to take a look at that.”
Several SBC members noted the site has challenges that suggest a higher than usual contingency is required. They also noted the town must approve any contingency funds the contractor requests.
“We stick with this budget,” Chandler said of keeping the contingencies in the budget submitted to MSBA. “If we don’t use it, we’ll do what we’ve always done: we give it back.
“There’s no harm/no foul, so to speak.”
Next steps
As it reviews the submission, the MSBA will be in touch with the town and may ask town representatives to attend one of the two July meetings of its Facility Assessment Subcommittee.
A scope and budget conference is scheduled for Aug. 12, two weeks ahead of the the MSBA’s Aug. 26 vote on the project scope and budget. That vote will provide information on the rate of reimbursement the project will receive from the MSBA, expected to be between 20 and 25%.
Locally, the Select Board is scheduled to vote at its July 21 meeting on placing a debt exclusion override question on the Nov. 3 election ballot, and Town Meeting will vote on authorizing the debt on Oct. 19.
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