It’s been almost a year since the town voted to fund safety and accessibility improvements to Hildreth House, a vote that prompted a collective sigh of relief from the team that worked hard to make that happen. This week that sigh turned into one of disappointment as the Hildreth House design team learned that the first “real” construction cost estimate is about $100,000 higher than the nearly $1.1 million originally budgeted for construction. The estimate, based on nearly complete design documents, was prepared by A.M. Fogarty and Associates and was presented to the design team by LLB Architects at a March 28 meeting.
LLB’s Aimee Lombardo and Drayton Fair suggested areas where items might be cut or listed as “add-alternates” in the bid documents, meaning that the items could be added if there’s enough money in the budget. With the help of project manager Steve Kirby of Vertex and Cal Goldsmith of engineering firm Goldsmith, Prest & Ringwall Inc., the team identified about $20,000 in site-work cuts and one major change that, pending investigation, might save enough to move forward with the project.
The original plan for wheelchair access was through a new vestibule in the rear of the building, which would have opened to a new lift. The team questioned whether access to the lift might better be provided from the front door that enters next to the kitchen. The new route would go through an existing coat closet between the dining room and kitchen, and end in a new pantry area at one side of the lift.
LLB will investigate the feasibility of this plan by the end of this week. If it works, the vestibule planned for the rear of the building could be cut from the project. Direct lift access from the front entrance would also mean that the portion of the wraparound porch that is slated to be built behind the building does not need to be covered, as it would if it were the main handicapped access. Instead, it could serve as a deck with tables and chairs.
Site work savings
Site-work cuts included landscaping and a new walkway that was to connect the parking lot to the rear of the building, both of which could be done later by volunteers. Two lights planned for the walkway were also removed from the plan, and a dumpster pad and enclosure were cut.
The next step is for LLB to determine if an accessible route from the front door to the lift can be created. If it can, LLB will get a cost for that change, as well as the cost savings for removing the vestibule and porch roof from the plan for the back of the building. The porch roof would appear in the bid documents as an add-alternate. A new estimate should be available in about two weeks, and, if more cuts need to be made, the design team will consider cutting the extension of the wraparound porch altogether. When the final design is ready, LLB will get a construction estimate, and, if all is well, the project should be ready to go out to bid by mid-May.
