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Most of the current work is preparing the site for the foundation to be laid.

Taconic High Building Project Site Work Picking Up In Summer

By Andy McKeeveriBerkshires Staff
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Much of the material being excavated is being kept on site to be re-used.
PITTSFIELD, Mass. — With school out, site work on the new Taconic High School is picking up.
 
The site of the new school, directly across the driveway from the current building, is under heavy construction, with equipment, material piles and dozens of workers getting the ground ready for vertical construction. 
 
"They've started pouring the footings, which are the below-level anchors to the building," Superintendent Jason McCandless said on Tuesday. 
 
The project is being managed by Gilbane Construction in tandem with project managers from Skanska USA. So far, site work, concrete and steel contracts have been awarded.
 
McCandless said summer school has been moved to Reid Middle School this year to make it easier for workers.
 
"They really want to have the space as people free as possible," McCandless said. "They are really hoping to make some real advances this summer."
 
The superintendent says by the end of the summer, when students return, most of the foundation work should be complete or mostly complete. The steel work for the outside of the building will then start to go up.
 
"We think by the end of the summer it will be looking like something with form," McCandless said.
 
So far everything remains on track both timewise and budgetwise, McCandless said. The only hiccup so far, according to the superintendent, is construction debris from the 1969 construction was found between the soccer field and the parking lot. That debris was "asphalt-like roofing material" which will need to be shipped out to a specific landfill for petroleum soils. That was unexpected, but McCandless said the budget included funds for any similar finds.
 
"We're hitting much much what they expected to hit. ... Everything we've do so far is absolutely under budget," McCandless said.
 
An access road and bridge has already been constructed and a fence separates the site from the current school. On Tuesday, residents were stopping by the school to watch the construction. Gilbane has set up a time-elapse camera to document the construction, which can been seen here.

The work is picking up now that the students are out.

J.H. Maxymillian Inc has the contract to prepare the land and Tierney Construction was awarded the foundation concrete contract.

The pre-cast concrete for the building's structure was awarded to Connecticut-based Coreslab Structures in tandem with Pittsfield's own Unistress. McCandless said the steel is coming from Norgate out of Quebec and Stellar Steel from Connecticut received the contract to put the steel up.

But right now, the focus is on getting the groundwork ready for the foundation and piles of excavated material remain on site.
 
"This site is providing a lot of material that will be reused," McCandless said.
 
Meanwhile, the city's director of maintenance, Denis Guyer, has been going through the current Taconic building and identifying pieces such as doors and windows that are in good enough condition to use in other school buildings.
 
The $120.8 million school project is replacing the 1969 Taconic High School. Once completed, in time for the 2018-19 school year, the old school will be razed. The new building will be 246,520 square feet, large enough to accommodate 920 students. 

Tags: school building,   Taconic High,   Taconic school project,   

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Pittsfield CPA Committee Funds Half of FY24 Requests

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — A few projects are not getting funded by the Community Preservation Committee because of a tight budget.

The projects not making the cut were in the historic preservation and open space and recreation categories and though they were seen as interesting and valuable projects, the urgency was not prevalent enough for this cycle.

"It's a tough year," Chair Danielle Steinmann said.

The panel made its recommendations on Monday after several meetings of presentations from applications. They will advance to the City Council for final approval.  

Two cemetery projects were scored low by the committee and not funded: A $9,500 request from the city for fencing at the West Part Cemetery as outlined in a preservation plan created in 2021 and a $39,500 request from the St. Joseph Cemetery Commission for tombstone restorations.

"I feel personally that they could be pushed back a year," Elizabeth Herland said. "And I think they're both good projects but they don't have the urgency."

It was also decided that George B. Crane Memorial Center's $73,465 application for the creation of a recreational space would not be funded. Herland said the main reason she scored the project low was because it didn't appear to benefit the larger community as much as other projects do.

There was conversation about not funding The Christian Center's $34,100 request for heating system repairs but the committee ended up voting to give it $21,341 when monies were left over.

The total funding request was more than $1.6 million for FY24 and with a budget of $808,547, only about half could be funded. The panel allocated all of the available monies, breaking down into $107,206 for open space and recreation, $276,341 for historic preservation, and $425,000 for community housing.

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