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Some of the classrooms are already complete.
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Vladimir Lyubetsky said nearly all of the furniture and equipment has been ordered.
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The gym floor is expected to start next week.
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The terrazzo flooring is expected to last into June.
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Some of the equipment has already been installed.
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The $120.8 million project is reportedly trending under budget, but it is too soon to say by how much.
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The project is expected to wrap up by June 29.
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The new school has a notable amount of glass and tiles.
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The work started on the top floor and moved down, with the first floor shops being the last to be completed.

Taconic Construction Hits Home Stretch, Plans Laid For Move

By Andy McKeeveriBerkshires Staff
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Dave DeForest led the School Building Needs Commission on a tour on Monday.
PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Gilbane Construction is scheduled to finish the new Taconic High School on June 29.
 
From there, a moving company will be contracted to bring all of the equipment being kept at the current school over to the new one. Teachers will be asked to box up their classrooms and whichever moving company wins the bid will make the transition.
 
John Benzinger of Skanska USA, the project consultant, said the moving contract is out to bid and that he expects the work to start in early June. The plan is to have the new building fully moved into by Aug. 1.
 
A group of staff and consultants have inventoried the furniture and equipment in the current building and identified all of the items that will be kept. According to Vladimir Lyubetsky, an architect with Drummey Rosane Anderson Inc., nearly all of the new furniture and equipment has been ordered -- and some is already inside the building.
 
"We're at the point where all furniture had been bid, well almost all, over 90 percent of the furniture was bid and purchased," Lyubetsky said. "It was a very good process and we hope the furniture and equipment will serve Pittsfield well."
 
There was also a budget line in the $120.8 million project for technology. Lyubetsky said prices for those items have been secured and the purchasing process is now underway. He said those prices have come in slightly under what was budgeted.
 
Benzinger said the existing equipment not being used in the new building is going to be auctioned. 
 
"We also started to auction the existing equipment that won't be used in the new building," he said, adding that through the sale of unused equipment already some $40,000 was sold.
 
He said there is a list of other items, which are still being used, that are lined up to hit the auction block soon. Anything that doesn't sell will go to charity, Benzinger said.
 
"We have plans and a purpose for almost everything and really trying to use as much as we can in the new building," said Superintendent Jason McCandless, adding that some of the Taconic items not going into the new school will go to another city school.
 
Project Manager Dave DeForest, of Gilbane, said the project is on schedule. In the late fall, the existing high school will start to be torn down. 
 
Before the school is torn down, McCandless said he will be having tours for community members to take a final trip through. He said there will be a few chances this spring and summer and he hopes to couple a tour with a walkthrough of the new school.
 
Highlights of the progress include, installations of the gymnasium floor is set to begin on Tuesday, equipment for culinary is being hooked up now and next week cafeteria equipment will be delivered. Work in the auditorium is expected to last until mid-June, as will the terrazzo flooring. There is site work left to do, that workers hadn't been able to start due to weather. DeForest said this week that can ramp up.
 
Budgetwise, Benzinger said "everything looks good. We are tracking well in the budget." He says the project will be less than the $120.8 million budgeted for it but says it is too early to tell by how much.
 
School Building Needs Commission Chairwoman Kathleen Amuso said a groundbreaking is currently being discussed for sometime in October.
 
"I really do think our community picked the right businesses, vendors, and partners to work with," Amuso said. "It has made a very large project a pleasure to work on and be part of."

 


Tags: Taconic school project,   

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MassDOT Project Will Affect Traffic Near BMC

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Prepare for traffic impacts around Berkshire Medical Center through May for a state Department of Transportation project to improve situations and intersections on North Street and First Street.

Because of this, traffic will be reduced to one lane of travel on First Street (U.S. Route 7) and North Street between Burbank Street and Abbott Street from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday through Friday through at least May 6.

BMC and Medical Arts Complex parking areas remain open and detours may be in place at certain times. The city will provide additional updates on changes to traffic patterns in the area as construction progresses.

The project has been a few years in the making, with a public hearing dating back to 2021. It aims to increase safety for all modes of transportation and improve intersection operation.

It consists of intersection widening and signalization improvements at First and Tyler streets, the conversion of North Street between Tyler and Stoddard Avenue to serve one-way southbound traffic only, intersection improvements at Charles Street and North Street, intersection improvements at Springside Avenue and North Street, and the construction of a roundabout at the intersection of First Street, North Street, Stoddard Avenue, and the Berkshire Medical Center entrance.

Work also includes the construction of 5-foot bike lanes and 5-foot sidewalks with ADA-compliant curb ramps.  

Last year, the City Council approved multiple orders for the state project: five orders of takings for intersection and signal improvements at First Street and North Street. 

The total amount identified for permanent and temporary takings is $397,200, with $200,000 allocated by the council and the additional monies coming from carryover Chapter 90 funding. The state Transportation Improvement Plan is paying for the project and the city is responsible for 20 percent of the design cost and rights-of-way takings.

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