Weston today photo
June 20, 2025 | From Ted Craft
The good news about the state of Weston Middle School, based on a preliminary technical assessment, is that the structure of the building is solid and would probably qualify for the “renovation as new” as part of the state's reimbursement protocol.
Whether it makes more sense to do without the renovation and build a new school remains a question. The first cost estimates indicate that it is a close call. New structure could cost approximately the same as the renovation and possibly even less.
On Wednesday evening, the educational committee heard a summary of the preliminary assessment by SLAM, an engineering and architectural company, Bemis Associates, specialists for electrical, HLK, sanitary and fire protection systems as well as colliers project managers who have advised the board in recent months.
The board did not vote on whether a second phase of the engineering study should be continued, which would be necessary with the decision to continue with the renovation. Without them, no application for state reimbursement of the construction costs could be submitted.
The second phase would mean a deep immersion in every characteristic, every system, the nook and every construction across the building inside and outside. The end product would be a conceptual design and presumably an updated comparison of the costs for the renovation with the establishment of new ones.
Another approach
When renovating as new, work in phases over several years. This bears the disadvantage of a long disturbance in education when the students pull in and from the temporary swinging space during the construction.
An alternative would be to carry out a “surgical” renovation over the course of a decade or longer, probably at the end, unless some required improvements were simply put aside for an indefinite period.
The surgical approach is also an occupied renovation that beeped by piece and which extends an extension of the disorders. It could gradually spread the financial effects on taxpayers over a longer period of time, but would be the risk of an endless cycle of more things that are mature, break and replaced.
There would also be the opportunity for government grants and burden the entire taxpayers of local taxpayers.
Estimates
On Wednesday evening, Slam Baseball Stadium presented estimates compared to the renovation with the establishment of a new school. The figures took into account that the renovated or new school would be 30,000 square meters smaller than the existing one. The figures were also based on the current bid market and on historical data at the course of the course.
These are the estimates for the proportion of costs in Weston (which net after reimbursement) from low to high.
- Renovation as new: $ 99.9 million to $ 118.6 million.
- Build up: $ 102.7 million to $ 125.7 million.
The net of Weston is based on these estimated total costs:
- Renovation as new: $ 113.1 million to $ 134.2 million.
- Build up: $ 112.9 million to $ 138.2 million.
Advantage, renovation
… but not as much as you would expect, since the current maximum reimbursement for the renovation of 22.14 percent is almost twice as high as the structure of new ones (12.14 percent).
One factor that shrinks its edge is that not all renovation costs are automatically reimbursable, at least not complete. For example, the roof of the middle school was replaced in 2009, which is new enough to rule it out, except perhaps on a prized base.
In addition, the renovation takes longer for the escalation costs. Scott Pellman from the Colliers team said that the new building usually takes 20 to 24 months. The renovation lasts 36 to 40 months.
Another factor is that quotes tend to be higher in renovation work. In May, the Slam project manager Jim Hoagland informed the school authority's educational optimization committee that “contractors know that they find unknown persons” when they open up an old building and take this into account in their pricing.
The figures mentioned above contain the school's swimming pool in the project, which is only suitable for half a rate reimbursement. All numbers drop by 6 million US dollars when the pool is left out, but the practicality is difficult to see.
The renovation scope
Renovation as a new is a comprehensive renovation of the facility, with at least 55 percent of the existing structure being used and more being built up if necessary.
After completing the renovation, the entire facility must be brought to the code 100 percent. This includes regulations for roofs, sanitary, water supply, fire protection, HLK, electrical systems, energy monitoring, communication, security systems and ADA compliance. State guidelines for the technology infrastructure must also meet.
According to the provisional assessment, the middle school currently wants to be in all of these areas.
While the assessment found that the structural integrity of the existing building was not affected, almost all systems would have to be replaced inside. In order to qualify for grants, systems must be certified in order to have a useful life expectancy of at least 20 years. The structure itself must be certified to be occupied for 50 years.
Details
The report found that most of the mechanical systems of the school go back to the 1960s and 1970s, at the end of their useful lifespan and could not be refreshed to reach the 20-year-old threshold.
The evaluation showed that outdoor and interior falling, outdated fire alarm systems, lack of fire protection, sanitary problems, insufficient humidity controls and non-compliance with ADA and construction regulations.
The engineers said that more detailed examinations were required for the roof structure, cover, tension, wood structure in the gym and the snow painting capacity of the snow. They also found veneer failure on the outer masonry.
Other problems that are mostly age -related are:
- The existing HLK equipment is beyond its useful life. There is little ceiling room for the management work without reducing the ceilings.
- The sanitary systems are the 1960s and 1970s at the end of their useful life and cannot meet the 20-year standard.
- Water pipes are copper and original in the building, which means that they may have been connected to Bleilot and would have to be replaced.
- The sanitary adjustments are original and not the code.
- The building has no fire protection system.
- Electrical systems are old, some in poor condition. Many feed houses and branch circuits were placed under the base plate during the construction, in the deterioration of susceptible lines. Burglating into the plate to replace it could be a large and disruptive undertaking.