It’s been about a month since ground was officially broken for the new 550-student middle school now under construction at the site of the former Peck School—and already the landscape has changed considerably.
This week saw a variety of heavy equipment on site, including a crane, dump truck, and more, as school officials took a tour to see for themselves how the construction work is progressing since the March 8 groundbreaking ceremony. This work includes the following:
Erosion and sediment control has been installed throughout the project site.
Additional site sloping and tree clearing has been completed, along with excavation for high retaining wall footings. Prep work and forming of footings is also under way.
Utility piping for drainage and water has been delivered to the site, with installation work to be ongoing through June.
As of this week, about 430 yards of concrete have been poured and temporary site fencing has been installed.
Periodic field observations and daily field-density testing have been ongoing to ensure structural suitability of materials. In addition, the project team meets each Tuesday to review and discuss ongoing coordination items. The design team and general contractor continue to coordinate on the submittal and RFI (Request for Information) process daily.
The $85.5-million project was officially approved in June 2023 by the City of Holyoke and the Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA). Of the total $85.5 million costs for demolishing Peck and building a new middle school, the City of Holyoke is responsible for paying approximately $27.1 million and the MSBA will reimburse approximately $58.4 million. Currently, the estimated project costs are under-budget.
Fontaine Bros. is the general contractor for the new middle school building. Fontaine Bros. was the lowest qualified bidder out of seven companies that were pre-qualified to submit bids. Since their founding in 1933, they have built numerous schools in the Pioneer Valley, including schools in Holyoke, Chicopee, Granby, and Springfield. Mount Vernon Group Architects is the design firm and Anser Advisory is serving as the owner’s project manager. American Environmental completed the demolition and site preparation. The new school is expected to open in fall or winter of 2025.
More information, including recent photos taken at the construction site, is available on the district website
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