City, MSBA commit to feasibility study for CHS renovation

Date: 10/4/2011

Oct. 5, 2011

By Katelyn Gendron

Assistant Managing Editor

CHICOPEE — Mayor Michael Bissonnette announced at a press conference on Sept. 29 that the city is another step closer to renovating the former Chicopee High School into a the new Fairview Veterans Memorial Middle School.

The mayor said the Massachusetts School Building Authority has agreed to provide 80 percent reimbursement to the city for a feasibility study of the renovation.

“It has been a long time coming to get this thing in motion,” Bissonnette said, noting that city officials hope to begin renovations next year in order to welcome students in the fall of 2013.

“We’re thrilled,” School Superintendent Richard Rege Jr. said of the announcement. “This plan was one that I submitted as principal at Fairview eight years ago ... we look forward to seeing this project pick up speed in the next few months.”

Richard Sitnik, director of project management for Arcadis, the firm overseeing the renovation, noted a request for services for architectural design will go out the first Tuesday in December and interviews will begin on the third Tuesday of that month.

Bissonnette said the renovation should take about one year, noting the plan will take advantage of the building’s current features such as the gym, cafeteria and auditorium, which the current Fairview school lacks.

The major costs in the renovations totaling approximately $15 million will be new heating, ventilation and air conditioning as well as upgrading the building to meet Americans with Disabilities Act standards, according to Rege.

“We’re committed to getting it right rather than getting it rushed,” Bissonnette said. “It’s going come in on time and on budget so that there are no surprises for the Chicopee taxpayers.”