The City of Boston updated the community this week on the construction progress at the Eliot Upper Innovation School (former North Bennet Street School). Officials covered the final project timeline, current status of construction progress, and the final impacts on the community during the upcoming months.
The meeting started with the fact that although the expected completion date has been pushed from pushed from September 2016 to “late winter, early spring” there have not been any further hiccups since the last update.
Above: Watch the full meeting video, held on July 12, 2016.
Currently, the roof is complete, the masonry work and windows are both 90% done and contractors are working on the interior while mechanical, electric and plumbing gets underway. Dry wall work continues on the second floor, where painting is scheduled to start next week.
Officials from the City of Boston continued to assure parents and stakeholders that despite the delay, progress is being made and they will continue to push vendors and contractors as fast as possible without sacrificing quality. The city is considering second shifts, and possibly having work on Saturdays to expedite the completion date. When asked for a hard date of completion, project managers and city officials were tentative to answer, but placed a March 1st estimated time as a rough estimate. Officials are optimistic that construction could be completed earlier and pointed out that the construction contract has penalties for delays. The city intends to utilize all their options regarding their contractual obligation(s).
Working to minimize street shut downs, constant deliveries of material and equipment have been a challenge. This September, drainage and sidewalks will be installed and replaced along the affected perimeter of the building. Below are renderings, design concepts and construction photos:
Construction Photos:
Interior Renderings:
Design Concepts:
Questions from the audience ranged from details of square footage, open space for physical education, to the safety of the school entrances and exits. When asked about the possibility of a site walk-through, officials were hesitant due to liability issues of entering a construction zone, but mentioned that there could possibly be one closer to completion.
Our friends at the North Bennet Street School should be awfully proud of the sweet building swap deal they wrangled from the City…this whole renovation project has been poorly conceived and executed from the start. I dread to see what the final price tag will be for this fiasco! If the City is incapable of managing a simple building renovation that keeps running behind schedule and over budget, what hope is there for the monumental projects they are proposing all over the downtown and waterfront neighborhoods?
David: Do you have numbers and facts about the ‘sweet building swap’??
As for the renovation running behind schedule, try walking by everyday, to view the work that these men (engineers, contractors, builders, etc.) have been doing.
I live nearby….pass the school everyday, and most people in the Old North Church neighborhood are amazed at the work being done. Now it is possible to look inside (from the street) to see all the steel beams and spacial structures. Perhaps the deadline was a bit too optimistic, but as I say, if you bore witness to the transformation, you would not criticize the project for being off schedule.
Heather: I’m sure when it’s eventually completed the project will look great and provide much needed additional capacity for Eliot, but at what cost? My criticism is directed towards the contractors. project manager, and the City for the callous disregard they have shown toward the property and quality of life of the immediate abutters on the surrounding streets. Despite repeated complaints, the contractors continue to frequently violate restrictions on hours of operation, fail to provide advance notification of street closures, and in some instances have actually caused physical damage to adjacent properties. The numerous delays have only prolonged the residents’ agony, and are indicative of the a lack of accountability fom the City and the contractors they employ. With respect to the chicanery that surrounded the bidding process for the disposition of this propperty and 150 North Street, I’ll simply refer you to the many previous articles and links on this site that detailed the manipulation of assessed property values in order to “make the numbers work”.