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Home My WebLink About2005-12-13-SCAP-min Senior Center Action Plan Committee Meeting December 13, 2005 5:30 pm Present: Shirley Stolz, Mary Lou Touart, Duke Bitsko, John Rossi, Lauren MacNeil, Paul Lapointe, Marian Cohen, Laura Kole, Richard Pagett, Charles Hornig, Tom Griffiths, Marilyn Campbell, Guest: Phil Poinelli Absent: Maria Constantinides Minutes We approved the minutes from December 6. Munroe School Report : Mary Lou Touart Mary Lou presented the report of the Munroe School subcommittee, consisting of Mary Lou, Shirley Stolz and Marilyn Campbell. They went to look at it, got into the building and saw all three floors. It is a good, solid building, it has a lot of the old look about it. There are many unfortunate partitions that have been created over the years to divide up the space. This is a Willard Brown-designed building (he designed the library). Shirley got the 1950 plans for additions; she feels a measurement of approximately 19,000 square feet is probably accurate. There are big, beautiful square rooms with tall windows that bring in lots of light. The building would need a LOT of renovation. Phil P. would like to look at the building; he will make arrangements to see it with Mary Lou and Richard. It is a beautiful building with gorgeous woodwork. There is plenty of space for an elevator. Duke commented that the building is not as large as what the Council on Aging (COA) requested. If Munroe is really 19,000 sq. ft then it is 2/3 of what was requested. COA would have to reduce the program. If it is really 19,000 sq ft, what are its drawbacks? It needs total renovation; it may be big enough now, but will it be big enough in the future; and it is occupied. Marilyn spoke to the head of Adult Education, discussing the possibility of a mixed use, sharing space for classes. Even though it is smaller than desired, space sharing is still possible with clever scheduling. Many private businesses operate out of Munroe. Where else could they go? From a report from Jeffrey Lipsky, Executive Director of the Munroe Center for the Arts, “Munroe Center for the Arts’ Lease & History Report, March 24, 2005”, there are “five independent schools, 14 resident artists, an art gallery, and the Art Span arts education program. The businesses contained within our walls include the Dance Inn, the Lexington School of Ballet, the Musician’s Collaborative, the Lexington Music School, the Children’s Arts Corner, the Chung Do Kwon Tae Kwon Do studio, and rehearsal space for the Lexington Players.” 2 Old Harrington School Laura presented the report. There are currently 87 parking spaces of its own. Another 50 spaces at least are possible if the playground behind the school is sacrificed. There are no programs at the new Harrington that assume access to Old Harrington parking spaces. This school has good access with a different entrance and exit. The building is very large, has more space than the COA can use. The biggest issue is managing traffic from the new Harrington and the Senior Center safely. The COA would have to be aware of the school calendar. We are not positive how much of the site will be given up to the COA when the building is. The biggest drawback to the site is we do not know when it might become available. Current estimates are 10-12 years from now, but even that could change at any time. Phil Poinelli (Chair, Permanent Building Committee) Two sites will be total renovations (Harrington, Munroe); one would require some renovation and some new construction (Muzzey Field); one is completely new construction (Meriam St. Lot). We need a sense of costs for doing these projects. The program size as requested by the COA: 24,000 sq. ft gross. Using a 30% factor for mechanicals, they calculated the mechanicals would require 5,500 sq. ft. Phil said the 30% is a little light for renovation of an existing building and suggested a 1.5 multiplier. Munroe has 19,000 sq. ft. gross on 3 floors. He thinks the net usable space in Munroe will be around 12,000 sq. ft. Muzzey: Is it a “park” ? Article 99 of the State Constitution protects it if it is. Using it would require compensatory land of equal or better value as the parkland. We don’t know if it is officially a “park.” Munroe Is there adequate parking? Phil has never been in it. He guesses the mechanical, electrical and plumbing need updating. What in the existing configuration can be preserved, what will have to be replaced. The classrooms are probably about 900-1000 sq ft. The cafeteria is in the basement. COA doesn’t need a complete kitchen, just a serving one. Construction Costs: Phil P . The rule of thumb for new construction is $200-$230 /sq ft as the project cost for institutional buildings. The “project cost” includes furnishings, equipment, design…everything but financing. The “construction cost” is what the builder is paid. Construction cost x 1.35 = project cost A bigger building costs less per square foot because of economy of scale. In the case of Harrington, do you take part of the building down or find someone else to take the space and pay for its renovation? You don’t renovate 55,000 sq. ft expecting to use 33,000! 2005-12-13-SCAP-min 3 Muzzey Will the COA use the existing 9,000 sq. ft in the old Muzzey? Yes, and they would like to link the two buildings at the lower level. COA must make sure the new building is distinctly a building by itself because of fire regulations. If COA makes a new building with a link, the whole building will have to be upgraded to conform to current standards. Meriam St. Parking Lot A parking garage’s cost is made on a cost per car basis, not a sq. ft basis. Typically assume $20,000 - $25,000 per car for covered parking; $8,500 per car for surface parking; $15,000 for structured parking; $12,000-15,000 per space for semi open spaces. The parking costs plus $200-$240/ square foot for the building. We could easily sink a parking deck below grade. There is a nice parking garage at Rt9 and 128 going south before the DPW facility. How do seniors want to use a space? Entering a lobby and using an elevator is not as inviting as walking directly into a building. The lot was an industrial site, is there a worry about digging down? No, but someone could take some bores and analyze them. Soil remediation is not that expensive, though. Garage: 300 sq. ft. for a space: this includes ramp and circulation. The Meriam St. lot is 115,000 square feet. A two or three level building would be ideal. 12,000-14,000 footprint is not bad, two levels is better than three functionally. How do we figure out how many parking spaces are added or taken away? Currently there are 300 cars parked and 60 more can be valet parked. Remember that some spaces will be dedicated to the Senior Center. Is this lot subject to setbacks? Charles not sure. It is currently zoned residential. Charles says if it is changed to be zoned CB it helps with the setback requirements. Rezoning is to CD would mean COA can do whatever they want, but this is a difficult designation to get. Bottom line: program costs $250 x 28,000 - $7 million Munroe might be only $4million to $4.5 million to renovate. COA should think about doing a feasibility study. Process: 1) feasibility study 2) Design phases: (schematic design, design development and contract documents. Contract documents are what you build from) 3) Build COA would want to go to Town Meeting (TM) for money. But…they got money 5 years ago, how much is left? Marian reports that the COA originally asked TM for $50,000. 2005-12-13-SCAP-min 4 TM voted to allow $35,000 of the $50,000 to be spent. Of that $35,000, the COA spent $15,000. That means that of the original $50,000, there remains $35,000. Phil estimates a feasibility study would cost $35,000. Note: the White House study cost $25,000) Meeting adjourned at 7:30 pm. Next meeting: Tuesday December 20, 2005 at 5:30 in the Selectmen’s Meeting Room at Town Hall. 2005-12-13-SCAP-min