Facilities Committee reviews Middlesex Middle School educational specifications, including proposed 800-seat auditorium

The Darien Facilities Committee met March 26 to review a 72-page draft of educational specifications for Middlesex Middle School and discuss the program, schedule and financing for a major renovation and a proposed two-story addition.

"The building was built in two primary phases," said Eric Hire of KG&B, who led the consultants' presentation, noting the campus totals about 195,000 square feet and roughly 6½ acres. Hire said a full modern replacement would be "about a almost a $200,000,000 project," and that the draft renovation estimate the district has been using is in the roughly "$80.85 to $95,000,000" range; the team said it will seek a second opinion and formal cost estimate from the construction manager.

Why it matters: the document (the "ed specs") defines the spaces, equipment and capacities the district will use to seek state school-construction grants. The consultants and administration said the ed specs are required to assemble a state grant application that, for projects of this scale, is typically submitted by June 30 for priority review.

What the specs propose: the consultants described program-level changes that…