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Ellen Garrison Building at Concord Middle School opens; project reports roughly $6.5–6.8 million in estimated savings
Summary
Owners' project managers reported that the Ellen Garrison Building at Concord Middle School is occupied and substantially complete, and that the project is tracking to finish under the preconstruction estimate by an estimated $6.5–6.8 million.
Owners' project managers and members of the school building committee reviewed milestones and finances for the Ellen Garrison Building at Concord Middle School, reporting the project is occupied and substantially complete while phase 2 site work and athletic fields establish.
"Seeing their reactions — wide-eyed, excited, and inspired — is truly one of the most rewarding parts of this work," said Hunter Apticker, an owner's project manager, summarizing student move-in and the February 2025 occupation of the new school. The presentation chronicled key milestones: May 2023 groundbreaking, a December 2023 steel topping-off ceremony, the consolidation of two libraries into one, a February 2025 student move-in, and a June 2025 ribbon cutting.
On finance, the OPMs presented preconstruction and updated cost figures. They said the project’s preconstruction budgeted total was roughly $111.5 million and that the estimated final cost is coming in under $105 million, yielding estimated savings of about $6.5 million to $6.8 million. The team reported remaining contingency balances: a construction contingency with an approximate $1.8 million balance (from an initial $4.59 million), and an owners’ soft-cost contingency of roughly $307,473 remaining of an original soft-cost contingency figure presented.
Phase 1 is complete and turned over; phase 2 work on athletic fields (subgrades, irrigation and grassing) is underway and the team said the fields will require two growing seasons to fully establish. Basketball courts and playgrounds have been turned over for use; fencing and protective snow fencing remain in place to protect newly sown areas while allowing public access to finished amenities.
Committee members and the project team thanked construction and design partners (SMMA and CTA Construction), the school building committee, town staff and custodial personnel for their roles in moving and opening the new facility. The administration also outlined short-term plans to interpret the building’s name: an Ellen Garrison community event on Nov. 4, student-led tours, and on-site material honoring Ellen Garrison’s legacy.
No formal committee action was required on the project report during the meeting.
