SAUGUS — Suffolk Construction has been chosen as the construction manager for the new combination middle-high school building project.
Contract negotiations were finalized following an in-depth selection process, in which a committee reviewed project proposals, interviewed qualified applicants, and evaluated the firms and their proposals. The committee ranked Suffolk, a national construction management firm with more than 34 years of experience building schools, as the first choice.
The Saugus High School Project Building Committee opted to pursue a construction manager at-risk method for the project during a meeting in April. The method guarantees that the selected construction manager allows for more flexibility if adjustments need to be made throughout the process.
The company has completed school building projects at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, Suffolk University, and Everett High School. It is currently managing phased construction projects at Somerville High School, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and Boston College.
“We are extremely excited to welcome Suffolk Construction aboard our project team, and to continue moving forward on this project with the Massachusetts School Building Authority,” Town Manager Scott Crabtree said in a statement. “The selection of Suffolk Construction as the project’s construction manager at risk is an exciting next step in the design development phase of the project, which brings us closer to building our new school for the community.”
The project is currently in the design development phase with the Massachusetts School Building Authority, the quasi-independent government agency that funds public schools. The town will submit a full design development package to the authority in early November.
Voters overwhelmingly supported two debt exclusions to allow for the construction of the new school and a restructuring of the entire district during a special election in June.
“We are extremely excited to be moving forward with the middle-high school project and to welcome Suffolk aboard our project team,” said Jeannie Meredith, who chairs the Building Committee and School Committee. “The detailed design phase of the project, where we are now, is another important step towards the continued prioritization of education within the community, which will benefit the children and residents for decades to come.”
