October 13, 2016 Facilities Assessment Subcommittee

The following District presented on the progress of their proposed project at the October 13, 2016 Massachusetts School Building Authority (the “MSBA”) Facilities Assessment Subcommittee (the “FAS”) Meeting:
 
City of Lynn
Pickering Middle School
Current Phase: Feasibility Study
 
Owner’s Project Manager: LEFTFIELD, LLC
Designer: Raymond Design Associates, Inc.
 
The District, the Owner’s Project Manager, and design team presented its overview of the options studied during the Feasibility Study and the District’s preferred solution to replace the existing Pickering Middle School facility with two new middle school buildings on two different sites.
 
The FAS, MSBA staff, and the District discussed: 1) the proposed location of special education spaces at the end of clusters and the importance of dispersing these spaces; 2) the increasing District-wide enrollment; 3) the potential reduction in designer and OPM fees associated with utilizing a previous design as proposed for re-use of the recently constructed Thurgood Marshall Middle School; 4) science Lab sizes and safe occupant capacity, suggestions to create a second means of egress, and limited access to prep rooms; 5) project areas and suggestions for opening-up into cluster-facing orientation; 6) scheduling and the potential for ‘teams’ to create their own schedules; 7) re-districting as it relates to the potential for creating ‘buffer zones’ for a temporary period of time; 8) future and proposed use of the play fields associated with McManus Park; 9) schedule as it relates to the District’s readiness for submitting a schematic design to MSBA by early January 2017 and the local permitting and approval process associated with land ownership that would impact the process for entering into a Project Funding Agreement; 10) the presence of vernal pools at the Reservoir site; 11) community concerns as they relate to opposition for locating a new school building at the Reservoir site; and, 12) historic documentation related to ownership and title of land associated with the proposed sites and securing access and control in a timely manner.
 
MSBA staff is currently working with the District to reach a mutually agreeable solution to recommend to the MSBA’s Board of Directors.