School building committee gets initial cost estimate

Date: 12/20/2011

Dec. 21, 2011

By Debbie Gardner

Assistant Editor

WESTFIELD — The School Building Committee received information on the cost of the proposed Ashley Street School project, but made no progress on choosing a name for the new school at its Dec. 12 meeting.

Committee member Frank B. Maher, Jr. Director of Operations/Maintenance/Food Services for Westfield Public Schools told Reminder Publications that the committee received an estimate of $27.5 million to construct the new school. The project is being overseen by Skanska USA Building Inc. Margo Jones has been selected as the architectural firm. Maher said the project is expected to go out for bid in the spring.

Maher said the committee also received a change to the estimated completion timeframe. The school is now projected to be ready by the winter of 2014 instead of the spring of that year.

Ward Two City Councilor James Brown, also a member of the School Building Committee, said the committee has begun asking committee members to submit their names for positions on the various subcommittees necessary to advance the school building project. He said he expects the appointments to be made later this month or in early January.

Brown added that the School Building Committee didn’t address the issue of naming the new school because “there is an official format [for that] that is done by the School Committee.”

Debbie Gardner can be reached by email at debbieg@thereminder.com

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