LLB Architects may soon have yet another project to design in Harvard: the safety and accessibility improvements to Hildreth House, scheduled to begin in the spring. At the Nov. 23 meeting of the Town Hall and Hildreth House Construction Committee (THHHCC), members voted unanimously to recommend the firm for the Hildreth House project. That recommendation, however, is contingent upon negotiations with LLB regarding their proposed schedule for the project, which threatens to delay the spring construction start date.
Only two firms responded by the deadline to the town’s request for qualifications (RFQ) for an architect for the Hildreth House design development. One was LLB Architects of Pawtucket, Rhode Island, the firm that prepared the schematic designs for the project as well as designs for the Town Hall renovation. The other was Gorman Richardson Lewis (GRL) Architects of Hopkinton, which designed upgrades to the Bromfield science labs’ ventilation system last year. A third firm responded 24 hours after the deadline, so the town was unable to accept its response.
Last week, members of the THHHCC interviewed both firms, following which the committee voted to recommend LLB based on its past performance with both the Town Hall and Hildreth House projects, as well as its existing knowledge of the Hildreth House project.
But the schedule proposed by LLB does not fit with the project’s timing. Committee members want to put the project out to bid in January or February, with construction to begin as soon as Town Hall is finished, scheduled for April 21, 2016. LLB’s proposed schedule would push the date that the Hildreth House project would go to bid to mid-April, delaying the construction start as well. Committee member Connie Larrabee was not happy with this news and wondered what took so long to issue the RFQ. She said it was supposed to go out at the end of August, and when it didn’t, she was told the delay wouldn’t hold up the project.
THHHCC will meet with LLB sometime in the next two weeks to negotiate the schedule. The Board of Selectmen will vote on the committee’s recommendation on Dec. 1. If those negotiations are unsuccessful, the committee will recommend GRL Architects.
