Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the School Construction topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Millis planning board hears full-scale Millis Middle–High School renovation plan; review continued to June 2
Summary
Architects and engineers presented a roughly 148,000-square-foot renovation and addition to Millis Middle–High School, describing a phased construction schedule with turnover targeted for 2028, new water/fire infrastructure and stormwater systems; the board continued formal review to June 2 for further comments.
Architects and engineers presented preliminary designs for a major renovation and addition to the Millis Middle–High School during the Planning Board’s May 12 meeting.
Project manager Matt Barnhart of Tapia Architects told the board the project totals about 148,000 square feet, including a roughly 45,400-square-foot new addition that will house a two-story middle school wing and a new gym. "The new addition is two floors and approximately 30 feet in height; the gym is about 35 feet," Barnhart said. He said the new wing will also include the superintendent’s and business offices on the first floor.
The landscape presentation described the site circulation plan that preserves a one-way drop-off pattern for buses and parents while adding an event-parking loop and four additional accessible parking spaces adjacent to the new entrance. "We're not changing the overall circulation; we're adding a small two-way portion for event parking," the landscape project manager said.
Michelle Callahan, the civil engineer from Nitsch Engineering, reviewed sewer, water and stormwater plans: a new fire-water loop with four hydrants around the site, new domestic and 8-inch fire protection services to the building, subsurface infiltration systems sized for a 100-year storm, and bioretention basins to meet water-quality requirements. "We're meeting all of the water quality requirements," Callahan said.
Adam Gordon of Fontaine Brothers, the construction manager, outlined the phasing. Mobilization and erosion controls are scheduled for spring; foundation work for the addition will begin after the school year ends. Gordon said the addition is expected to be turned over in phases with the first turnover targeted for 2028. He said deliveries will be scheduled around school arrival and dismissal times and that subcontractors will be limited to 40-foot trucks to fit neighborhood road geometry.
Board members pressed consultants on parking, occupant load and fire protection. The team said the design provides 198 dimensionally compliant parking spaces (the existing site has 206 spaces, 183 of which meet today's dimensional standard) and that the gym’s approximately 700 seats would require roughly 175 spaces, a figure the presenters said their design meets. On hydrants, the engineering team said they have coordinated locations with the fire chief and DPW and plan to relocate or add hydrants where needed to ensure coverage.
The board requested the full stormwater report and peer-review comments (from the town’s reviewer, Beta) prior to additional review. The board voted to continue the school project review to its next meeting on June 2 rather than take final action at the May 12 session.
Next steps: consultants will submit the supplemental stormwater report and respond to peer-review comments; the board will reconvene the school project at its June 2 meeting for further consideration and potential conditions.
