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South Kingstown awards school architectural contract to Studio Jade after fee negotiation
Summary
The town council voted to award architectural services for the new high school to Studio Jade/SLAM Collaborative at a negotiated fee of 7.75% (about $9.56 million with contingency). Officials outlined PAYGO reimbursement mechanics and scheduled a July 30 community forum.
South Kingstown on Tuesday authorized an award to Studio Jade/SLAM Collaborative for architectural services on the new high-school and athletic-complex project, approving a contract not to exceed $9,557,890.65, which includes a 5% contingency.
Town planner Luke Murray told the council the firm was selected after an RFQ, interviews and a scoring process; the town negotiated the architect’s fee down to 7.75% of estimated construction costs after the owner’s project manager advised using the town’s updated construction estimate. “We came back with a final proposal of 7.75%,” Murray said, noting that negotiation reduced the fee by roughly $700,000 from an initial proposal.
The council’s action moves the project into schematic design. Murray and Philip Conte of Studio Jade outlined next steps, including community engagement: the firm will host a public forum on July 30 (6–8 p.m., Town Hall) and expects schematic design work to be completed around September for council review in October–November. The firm said it will steward costs and manage a team of subconsultants for specialty needs such as mechanical, landscape and athletic-facility design.
Council members asked whether air-quality monitoring or geothermal exploration were included in the base contract. Murray said air-quality monitoring is not included in the base fee and could add up to about $50,000 if required; geothermal consulting is scoped separately and will be pursued only after test wells and feasibility analysis. Philip Conte said the firm would be ‘‘mindful of the project’’ and committed to cost stewardship.
Finance staff and Studio Jade also described how PAYGO state reimbursements would work: under current assumptions, the town expects to be reimbursed roughly 35% of eligible invoices (the PAYGO base rate), but the town must expend funds first to trigger reimbursements. “You have to expend funds to get the PAYGO back,” Conte said, explaining that reimbursements are submitted as invoices are incurred and paid over time.
The council approved the award after the presentation and set public outreach and design milestones. The July 30 forum will be livestreamed and recorded, with details posted to the school building committee website.
