Concord committee recommends schematic design work for new middle school at South Street site

The Concord School District Capital Facilities Committee on April 2 recommended that the full school board move forward with schematic design and design development for a new middle school at the South Street site.

The committee’s recommendation follows a presentation from HMFH Architects and engineering partners summarizing existing-conditions studies (2017, 2021 and 2022) that, according to the consultants, found the current middle school does not meet New Hampshire Department of Education guidelines for classroom size, contains multiple code and accessibility violations, and has electrical, mechanical and roofing systems that have “passed their useful life.” Jean, an HMFH Architects representative, told the committee, “All of the classrooms here identified in orange are undersized according to New Hampshire DOE, state recommended guidelines for, size of learning spaces.”

Why it matters: Committee members said the combination of building deficiencies, uncertain state building-aid funding and escalating construction costs makes it important to develop accurate site and cost information before any final commitment. The vote to advance schematic design will fund site…