Boston-based firm named Classical project managers

LYNN – With the bulk of demolition and heavy construction set to begin at Classical High School in the coming months, Boston-based CBI Consulting has won the bid to oversee the process as project managers, the firm announced Friday.The company is the first of many construction and architectural firms that will battle for bids throughout the entirety of the four-phase, 18-month renovation project, but as project managers, CBI will organize and oversee most of the mechanical, electrical and plumbing services.The scope of the $12 million project includes the replacement of existing concrete support slabs beneath the school, along with the reinforcement of piles within the slabs and several structural repairs to both the interior and exterior of the building.”With the proper restoration, the life expectancy of a school building can be greatly extended,” said CBI Consulting Principal Wayne Lawson. “Renovation projects are a cost-effective measure that can help ensure the safety and longevity of a structure.”CBI was founded in 1984, and has since built a client list that includes Brown University, the Marriot Hotels, Wentworth Institute of Technology and the U.S Post Office in Boston.Problems first surfaced at the then 5-year-old Classical High School in 2005, when a large portion of the school’s A and C wing, along with the library, began to show severe structural damage including large jagged cracks in the walls and buckled ceiling tiles. By 2006, the school suffered from crumbling walls, cracked and lifted floor tiles, misaligned doors and areas of broken windows and shattered trophy case glass.Built on the site of a former landfill, inspectors recently determined the deficiencies began because contractors did not properly secure the concrete support slabs to bedrock located beneath the contents of the landfill. Because piles were not driven to the bedrock, the school slowly began to sink into the soft surface below, causing the severe structural problems to take place.The city sued the 11 different firms that worked on the building in 2006, eventually settling on an $8.85 million settlement, the bulk of which was paid by Symmes Maini and McKee in Cambridge and GZA GeoEnvironmental Inc. of Newton.CBI will now oversee the four-phase renovation project, which began in December with the removal of materials from the areas of the school where the renovations will take place.Officials hope to begin phase two in early February, which will consist of tearing down interior walls, demolishing portions of the existing concrete slab, and reworking underground electrical wiring. This phase should be complete by late April.The bulk of the structural repair will take place during phase three, expected to take place between May and November of this year. Workers will build a new slab and pound the existing piles further into the bedrock to ensure proper support, and also install new grade beams to further ensure stability and support in the rear of the building.Phase four will feature work to the exterior of the school, and will bring the project to its completion in September 2009, hopefully in time for incoming freshmen to return to the school.The 2007 and 2008 freshmen classes at Classical are housed inside the Fecteau-Leary building on North Common Street, which served as the high school prior to the construction of the new building. Students in grades 10-12 will remain on O’Callaghan Way throughout the renovation project.