Committee discusses alternatives to $5 million design
At a meeting between the Hildreth House Improvement Committee and the design professionals who created a $5 million-plus renovation and expansion plan for the property, Chairwoman Connie Larrabee described her committee’s problem with the project, which estimated building costs at $460 per square foot.
“Your plan was just wonderful, but way too expensive. Our goal is to pare this thing down, revisit our needs, and get what we need at the lowest cost possible.”
The cost estimate and drawings were prepared for last year’s Annual Town Meeting as part of a study to evaluate renovation needs and create schematic designs for Town Hall and Hildreth House, which serves as the office for the Council on Aging and as a senior center.
Renovation for Town Hall may begin this year, if the project is granted the variance it needs to get a building permit. Plans for Hildreth, however, are on hold as the committee strives to meet its charge from selectmen to “consider modifications to the proposed plans that result in a better design and/or cost savings,” and to serve the needs of “Harvard’s current and future senior population for the next several decades.”
In service to its mission, committee member and builder Richard Blinn sketched an alternative plan, named Plan B by the committee, to illustrate a pared-down version of the schematic plan designed by Pawtucket-based firm LLB Architects, represented at the meeting by R. Drayton Fair and Aimee Lombardo. Also present was project manager John Sayre-Scibona of Design Technique, Inc..
Plan B would move the parking lot and main entrance from the back (southeast) of the house to the front (northeast) side, facing Ayer Road. That change would eliminate the need for a basement-level main entrance and three-story elevator. (A two-story elevator would still be required). Committee members hoped the change could save site work costs, now estimated at almost $900,000. But Fair wasn’t certain that would be the case, saying both locations posed engineering challenges of ledge, fill, or terracing.
“The driver of the design is the location of the parking lot. Many other design options flow from this,” noted committee member and design professional David Vannicola. Architect Fair agreed with the assessment, but noted that the more significant cost-savings would come from economizing on “basic materials” and “bringing down the size of the addition,” which he said could save up to $1 million. He agreed that a two-story elevator and first-floor main entrance—as opposed to basement level—would yield savings, but warned that a parking lot facing Ayer Road could be less attractive due to its visibility from the main road and the extensive tiering that would be required.
Fair and Lombardo agreed that $460 per square foot seemed “a little high,” but noted that the costs of public and private construction were not comparable.
The committee will meet with LLB Architects on Feb. 21 to review the scaled-down plan. Larrabee said the committee would soon report its progress to selectmen, but would not be requesting funds from the 2013 Town Meeting.
