WESTFIELD – The Council on Aging Senior Center design is becoming firmer, with a goal-of carving it in stone in the near future so that the construction project is ready to bid next spring.
There are still issues with the siting of the structure and activity that needs to be coordinated with city plans to improve Noble Street, but the basic building design was accepted Wednesday by a vote of the Building Committee, subject to minor changes and adjustments to keep the project within the $7 million bond budget set by Mayor Daniel M. Knapik
That design is for a two-story 21,140 square-foot building. The size of the building has changed several times, expanding to as much as 25,000 square feet, which came with a price tag closer to $10 million.
City officials said the building design had to reflect the $7 million bond cap, so the building shrunk to 16,000 square feet. The building is being designed by a team of two architectural companies, Dietz & Company Architects of Springfield which is teaming up with Courtstreet Architects of Newton. Courtstreet has designed several senior centers constructed recently in the state.
Architect Joe Rizza of Courtstreet Architects, said the latest square footage revision came because the 16,000 square foot building “didn’t meet programmatic needs” of the COA.
COA Executive Director Tina Gorman then brought the financing conundrum to Knapik who decided to remove the “soft costs” of design work out of the bond and submit a funding request to the City Council which approved a $300,000 appropriation at its Sept. 19 meeting that will finance the design effort up to the 25 percent phase.
The building will have a 15,000 square footprint, with additional facilities on the second floor, including an exercise room and a multipurpose area, although much of the second floor will not be finished and will be area available for future expansion as needed to address the COA space needs.
Other soft costs, for furniture, fixtures and equipment, originally included in the cost estimate, may also be removed as the Friends of the Senior Center continue fundraising efforts, meaning that more of the $7 million bond would be available for construction of the facility.
City Purchaser Tammy Tefft said that she will request Knapik to seek a $360,000 appropriation from the city’s free cash account, to bring the design effort to the construction bidding phase.
Much of the discussion then focused on the design timeline and when the project would be ready to advertise for construction. Tefft said the most advantageous time to seek construction bids is early spring when contractors are lining up projects for the summer construction season.
Tefft said that advertising the project in early summer puts the city at a competitive disadvantage because many contractors will already have secured summer projects and would submit higher bids.
“My goal is to bid the (construction) project in late winter or early spring,” Tefft said. “That gives the mayor time to send the ($7 million) bond request to the City Council before the summer recess.”
“If we bid the project after May, bidding after the construction season has started, contractors are not looking for work,” Tefft said.
City officials and the consultants also discussed the options of hiring a contractor. The traditional method is to bid for a general contractor and subcontractors, accepting the lowest qualifying bid. Unanticipated costs are addressed through change orders which increase the total project cost.
A second option, used in other parts of the country and slowing being accepted by government entities in the New England region, is called construction management at risk in which a firm price for the project is negotiated and it is up to the contractor to control costs or have to fund overrun expenses.
The committee initiated a discussion of the benefits and liabilities of the two options and will continue that discussion at its Oct. 23 session. One of the major benefits of the construction manager at risk is that the contractor is hired much earlier, when the project is still in the design phase. The CM at Risk participates in that design process and construction sequencing.
City Engineer Mark Cressotti said the relocation of a drainage easement, which runs near the north property line of the 2.3-acre parcel, needs to be coordinated with the city, which is designing improvements to Noble Street, some of which will directly support the senior center. The stormwater line in that easement carries water from the Ely-Dollan apartment complex out to Noble Street.
Cressotti also requested that a traffic study be done to determine if dedicated turning lanes need to be inserted into Noble Street at the senior center entrance.
Cressotti also urged the consultants to schedule public meetings on the project to explain it to city and neighborhood residents.
“What’s the game plan for getting this plan out to the public?” Cressotti asked. “People want to be engaged in this process.”
Rizza said the design contract includes a requirement to present the schematic design at public meetings.
“We’re ready for that,” Rizza said. “Reaching out to the community to get (residents) on board is important.
