The new Revere High School project at Wonderland is under budget and on schedule, according to the project manager.
At Monday night’s city council meeting, Brian Dakin of Leftfield, the owner’s project manager for the new high school project, provided a brief update on the finances and construction timetable for the building.
The council approved a $493-million bond to build the new high school on the 33-acre Wonderland property in 2024. Grants from the Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA) could cover almost half the cost of the construction of the school, which is scheduled to open for students and staff at the beginning of 2029. Dakin said the exact amount of reimbursement could vary depending upon the latest budget figures for the project.
“On the budget side of the high school project, bidding is complete,” said Dakin. “The end culmination of bidding put the project $14.8 million under the previously established construction costs.”
The total bidding amount, Dakin said, is the difference between the estimated $950 per square foot for construction and $935 per square foot, where the project ended up after bidding.
“The bid savings of about $14.8 million will be transferred into the project’s hard-cost contingency, resulting in that contingency moving from $18.5 million.”
Dakin noted that none of the project’s contingency funds have been spent at this point.
“As with any contingency, or allowance, in the project, if it is unspent it comes back to the city at the end of the day,” said Dakin.
The city has also submitted the whole guaranteed maximum price final construction contract to the MSBA for its analysis, which Dakin said will likely take a few months.
“The final update to the MSBA agreement, which you call the PFA bid amendment, that adjusts the budget to the actual bid costs, not the estimated cost, and provides us the final breakdown of range of reimbursement,” said Dakin. “So once we get that PFA bid amendment back, a topic of discussion at a future update meeting will be how the bottom line cost to Revere has evolved – what Revere is putting up front minus what it is getting back from the state. Ultimately, the project is very healthy financially; we do anticipate – barring any unforeseen, out-there events – we absolutely anticipate being able to deliver the project under budget.”
The question right now is how far under budget the final tally will be, Dakin.
The project is currently 15 percent complete with construction for the four-story school, Dakin said.
“Site work is ongoing, and that includes grading, underground utilities, ground improvements,” said Dakin.
The soil exporting process is complete in two zones around the building, and the soil exporting is moving toward the northern portion of the site, he said.
“Geothermal wells are also in the process of being drilled,” Dakin said. “We have multiple rigs that are drilling between three and five 350-foot holes for the geothermal system per day. That will take the next two to three months to complete.”
Concrete pours for the foundation and footings are also underway. There are three to five pours per week that translate to a couple hundred trucks coming and going.
“All of that puts us on schedule for the receipt of structural steel,” said Dakin. “The second week of July, the crane will show up; by the third week of July steel will start arriving from Canada and erection will begin and run through December.”
By the time fall turns to winter this year, Dakin said contractors will be done with ground improvements and foundations and the soil exporting from the site will end.
“We will have the steel erected and be moving into cladding the envelope of the building as steel goes up,” he added. “That envelope work will run straight through next fall, and as portions of the building are closed in it will be rapidly followed by mechanical systems and interior construction.”
The project is still on schedule to be turned over to the city in the fall of 2028 with occupancy after the winter holiday break, Dakin said.
Ward 3 Councillor Anthony Cogliandro asked Dakin if he sees any potential need for use of the project’s contingency funds. Dakin noted that there may need to be a closer look at the internal furnishing and technology budget once the project is closer to completion.
“I expect the furniture/equipment budget to be inadequate; I don’t know by how much,” said Dakin. “I think there is going to be a decision point a little further down the road with the building committee of potentially tapping contingency to right the furniture budget, but that’s probably a number of months away. That budget is a few years old at this point, and nothing good has happened in that industry in terms of cost.”