Project Timeline
June 17, 2024 Ground Breaking Ceremony
May 16, 2024 W.T. Rich GMP Contract executed for the full construction project, $57.9M
May 8, 2024 Anticipated Start date for W.T. Rich to mobilize to the project site.
April 17, 2024 The Middleton Select Board authorized the release of subcontractor awards for early contracts.
February 28, 2024 The project was put out to bid, the team pre-qualified 87 trade contractors who were issued a Request for Bid for the filed sub-bidder trades.
February 5, 2024 The US Fish and Wildlife Service issued an incidental take permit due to a pair of nesting bald eagles on-site.
October 17, 2023 A special town meeting was held to vote an additional appropriation of $9,950,000 to increase the project budget to $74,516,061. This was necessary since the project estimates throughout the design have verified that the original construction estimate in the feasibility study was not sufficient for the planned project. Upon approval of the additional funding, the architect was authorized to proceed with the preparation of the bidding documentation also known as the construction documents.
August 8, 2023 The separately estimated construction costs by the architect and the construction manager were presented to the building committee. The project cost at the end of Design Development phase of the project is in-line with the Schematic Design estimated cost for construction, roughly $10M higher than originally estimated during the feasibility phase.
June 30, 2023 The Design Development drawing sets are complete and have been submitted to the Architects cost estimator and the project Construction Manager to estimate the project cost.
May 8, 2023 The project is in the Design Development phase. At the end of the phase in July, the project will be estimated by both Context Architecture and by W.T. Rich Company (Construction Manager). W.T. Rich Company contract is expected to be fully executed on May 16, they will begin with pre-construction services on the project for a limited fee. The Committee has hired an Environmental Consultant to assist with permitting activities within regulated buffer zones of the Bald Eagle Nest, a Federal Incidental Take Permit will be filed this month. Site plan review is expected to be filed in June for the project.
March 29, 2023 The Committee prequalified, received proposals and interviewed five Construction Managers for the project. The Committee voted to enter into negotiations with the top ranked firm, W.T. Rich Company.
March 27, 2023 The committee decided that cutting scope or program was not a viable option to get the project back to budget without significant impacts to the project. In order for the project to meet the current needs of the Town and into the future that it would be necessary to increase the construction budget. The committee will work on further project savings by making adjustments to the site plan design and will pursue grants, earmarks and appropriations to minimize the overage during the next few months. The Committee will ask the Town in a Special Town Meeting in the Fall for additional funding for the project. The project will be re-estimated by both the Architect and Construction Manager in July. The project was voted by the MBC to proceed into the Design Development phase.
March 16, 2023 The Schematic Design (SD) scope was estimated by Context Architects estimator at $59,774,338. The estimate was more than $12M higher than the construction budget of $47,975,139. The Committee reviewed possible cost savings measures that were presented by the team.
February 1, 2023 The schematic design work is complete, Context Architecture's estimator will spend the month of February developing the first detailed cost estimate of the project based on the approved Schematic Design of the project. The first report to the Committee of a reported Bald Eagle nest on the site was made.
September 29, 2022 The design team estimator provided a very preliminary conceptual estimate for the project. The project was estimated to be approximately $12-15M over budget. The estimated construction values have accelerated at nearly twice the level prior to the HKT study, recent volatility in construction costs have caused the project to be over budget as well as a longer timeline for start of construction than was forecasted in the initial HKT feasibility study. The project was forecasted in the HKT feasibility study to start construction in 2022, however the project currently is expecting to begin construction in early 2024.
September 12, 2022 The design team is wrapping up space and programmatic planning for the two buildings. Layouts of the buildings are being drafted based on the space and program planning. As the building layouts evolve they are being overlaid on the site plan to show where they sit in relation to each other, the street, and abutting properties. As noted below, the Town received a very low interest rate when it borrowed for this project. The low interest rate environment was one of the factors in our favor in 2021 when the Committee asked Town Meeting and the voters to approve the project. The Town borrowed in November 2021 and received an average net interest rate of 2.05%. Recent similar borrowings by Massachusetts municipalities have been around 3.5%. Our financial advisors calculate taxpayers will save over $16 million over the 30 year life of the loan with the favorable rate that is locked in for the project.
July 19, 2022 The design team led by Context Architecture is currently undertaking space and programmatic planning for the two buildings. This will inform the overall square footage of each building. A public presentation is scheduled for late July. Context will present a draft layout of the site.
May 31, 2022 The Massachusetts Office of the Inspector General issues a notice to proceed to the Town to utilize the construction-manager-at-risk (CM@R) delivery method. CM@R establishes a partnership between the design team and the general contractor. This generally results in a better project, fewer change orders, and more budget certainty.
April 5, 2022 The Town awards a design contract to Context Architecture of Boston, MA. Context and its team will design the buildings and site improvements.
March 22, 2022 The Town awards a contract for owner’s project management (OPM) services to PCA360. The OPM works for the Town and provides specialized expertise in the oversight of the design, construction, and fit-up of the buildings.
November 30, 2021 The Town sells 30-year bonds to finance the project. The sale is awarded to Fidelity Capital Markets at an average net interest rate of 2.05%.
July 19, 2021 Members of the Town Building Committee were appointed. The committee will steer the design of the buildings.
June 12, 2021 Annual Town Election ballot includes a Proposition 2 ½ Debt Exclusion question. This allows the Town to levy additional taxes to fund the debt service of the Public Facilities Project. The question passed 1,009 to 522.
June 5, 2021 Article 22 of the Annual Town Meeting authorizes borrowing $61.7M for design and construction of the Project. The article passed 280-48.
September 2020 HKT Master Plan issued for the project with an estimated cost for the project.
May 2019 the Master Development Planning Committee (MDPC) was established
March 19, 2019 Special Town Meeting the town voted to buy the Middleton Golf Course for $3.8M