Arrow Street peer review narrows Acton DPW building options; committee to seek more analysis

Arrow Street, the consultant retained to peer-review the Town of Acton Department of Public Works (DPW) facility project, presented five options — labeled Option 1, 2, 3, 4A and 4B — at the DPW Building Committee meeting on Sept. 24 at Acton Town Hall.

The presentation compared area, program fit, constructability, phasing implications and cost. Arrow Street’s presenters said the options differ in how much of the existing building is retained, how many vehicles could be stored, whether seismic upgrades are triggered and the likely energy performance. “We think Option 4A is the most promising,” Andrea said, adding that it met the most criteria in their scoring matrix while costing substantially less than the original Weston & Sampson 40% DD set.

Why this matters: committee members repeatedly emphasized that the choice will shape a capital request likely to go to town meeting and possibly a debt-exclusion vote. The options’ total project estimates discussed at the meeting ranged from low- to mid‑tens of millions for individual components up to roughly $39 million for the Weston & Sampson baseline after escalation; the differences affect whether voters will support a project and how long the town can defer future work.

Key findings and numbers

- Arrow Street compared the consultant-originated Weston & Sampson 40% design-development (40% DD) set to five alternatives they developed to reduce cost and scope. Weston & Sampson’s estimate dated March 27 was cited at $29,780,000 for construction and a project estimate of about $37,000,000; Arrow Street applied a 6% escalation and presented a comparable escalated figure of roughly $39,000,000.

- Arrow Street’s alternatives: one reduced the Weston & Sampson footprint (Option 1), one renovated…