Lowell – After several years of sessions that delivered bad news about “unforeseen conditions”, cost overalls and construction problems with the Lowell High -Restruction and Renovation Project, Suffolk Construction presented an inconspicuous update for the school building committee on September 18 during his meeting.
“Nothing has changed from the last presentation,” said Justin Lyon, Vice President of Suffolk Construction and Project Executive, to the body and referred to the previous meeting of August 14th.
The four -phase construction project was approved in 2016 and was broken on the ground in 2020. The phases 1 and 2 consisted of new buildings and have been completed, including the opening of the new Riddick Athletic Center, the five -story first -semester academy and the three -story addition, which combines the academy, the fitness studio and the new school entrance in front of the father Morissette Boulevard with an receipt of the father.
The phases 3 and 4 are more complicated renovation projects of the 1980s, 1922 and 1892, which have drained the 21.2 million dollar construction in the amount of 21.2 million US dollars and delayed the project by one year, with additional costs being closed.
“Back to the beginning of the project, there were many unforeseen conditions in terms of mechanical coordination and the structure,” said Lyons. “There were unforeseen conditions everywhere.”
These unforeseen conditions cost the city at least another 40 million US dollars. The higher price for the project is now almost 422 million US dollars compared to its initial amount to be approved for almost 382 million US dollars.
Some of these conditions included the conversion of the basic plans.
In a meeting of 2023, the school building committee learned that the architecture company Perkins Eastman designed the bathroom for the newly built Riddick Athletic Center, which was based on a school -wide basis compared to the operational area.
The gym with 3,000 seats was built with two toilets for each sex on the first floor on the Arcand Drive and five toilets for each sex in front of the square on the second floor of the fitness studio. Schematic show that the current seven toilet plans were already part of the design in 2018.
Suffolk took off ceilings and opened walls during a rating before construction in 2019, but during the termination of 2024, “unique” places in the Cyrus W. Irish auditorium asbestos-containing materials were found in “unique” places in the Cyrus W. Irish auditorium.
As a result, more than 400,000 US dollars were deducted from increased costs from the city's construction quota, and the opening of the renovated auditorium was delayed from June 2025 to early 2026.
A construction device is money that is available for amendments from new inquiries or unforeseen building requirements. The original 21.2 million US dollars were installed in the 381 million dollar project, but were “replenished” for a total of almost 35 million US dollars.
“The auditorium -the plan should end the specialized AV acoustics in the course of January, February for a March turnover,” said Lyons.
In February, Suffolk Construction reported on the discontinuation of the floor under the plate in the basement of the building from 1922. The correction of the plate cost 1.75 million dollars. Further expenses in the 1922 building are the variety of wall types that were discovered during the demolition walls behind the 1-inch plaster walls, which led to “unforeseen conditions”.
Some problems that do not refer to unforeseen conditions, but with the construction practices for work products and subcontractors were raised by member John Leahy, who acts as deputy head of the facility department of the Facility Department of the Lowell Public Schools.
“The sections that have not been deleted, the floors have glue on them, the seams do not look best,” he said, referring to floor tiles and bubbling what lyons attributed to the adhesive used.
“We have to repeat certain things,” he said. “We have to take care of it.”
He said the crews would work on Saturdays from last weekend to fix these problems.
Kendrick del OBRE was the LHS student representative of the committee, who continued his service in the committee, while a student in urban planning at Westfield State University. He asked the Skanska project manager, Jim Dowd, whether the new gas flocks, which were incorrectly installed in the classrooms of the culinary arts, would be repaired and the wrong steps in the gym.
“It was a mistake by the subcontractor …” said Dowd. “If costs arise due to the subcontract errors, they have arisen [Suffolk] are certainly the subcontractors. We are very hardworking to hold them into account. There are no costs for the city. “
Del Orbe said that he is still committed to the Lowell High School project.
“I am monitored, worked with colleagues and employees and for almost 2 years after the physical development of LHS,” he said on Tuesday by text by the WSU. “It is important for me and my colleagues, who are intended to do this project as well as Lowell students and our taxpayers.”
A major part of the development of phase 1 and 2 was the placement of the ornamental fence on the Arcand Drive, which closes the interior quad, which was created by the Riddick Gym and the Freshman Academy.
The steel panels show the Lowell channel system and at the same time offer a safe place for the students who can gather outside.