Greylock School Cost Estimates, Spec Plans Being Readied for MSBA

NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — Design documents for the $65 million Greylock School project, including cost estimates, are expected to be submitted to the Massachusetts School Building Authority by the end of this month. 

 

One cost estimate by as independent estimator came in this week and the second is expected.  

 

Jesse Saylor, of TSKP Studio, the school's designer, found the first estimate "encouraging."

 

"The estimate that we've received is actually a little bit under where we were at schematic design," he said. "It is lacking an update from the hazardous materials consultant, which we're wrapping up this week. So it's not fully complete, and I expect that to be an increase as they've done a more in-depth investigation of the existing building."

 

Even so, Tim Alix of Collier's International, the owner's project manager, told the committee on Tuesday that the budget should be able to handle it.

 

"At this point in a project, they're carrying a pretty hefty design contingency to kind of anticipate that there are things they don't know about, that they'll have some costs that they don't understand yet," he said, adding that unknowns can pop up shifting from one phase to another. The project has recently entered Module 6.

 

"So depending upon how large of a increase that is ... that may be able to be absorbed  by the lowering of the design contingency, but we'll see once we get together."