Board hears detailed update on new middle school design, abatement and pricing; architects outline schedule and resilience options

Project managers and the architect presented a multi-hour design and schedule update on the new middle school, reporting progress on design development, contractor pricing, hazardous-materials testing and site coordination with the city.

Mickey Bragg, project manager with OTAC, said the team has hired several consultants — a commissioning agent (Northwest Engineering), an envelope consultant (Stantec) and a hazardous‑materials designer/surveyor (PBS). He told the board that PBS’s survey of the existing middle school confirmed "it is full of hazardous materials," and that the team is now able to scope abatement work and refine cost estimates.

Bragg said the project is moving from design development into construction documents: a percent-DD (design development) set was to be completed the week of the meeting and a 90% set had been released to Pence (CMGC) contractors for early pricing. Two pricing streams are active: Pence, the selected CMGC, is collecting subcontractor pricing and a third-party estimator, DCW, is preparing an independent estimate. The team expected initial pricing results in about three weeks to reconcile costs against the project budget.

Earl…