Braintree's New South Middle School Project Goes Out To Bid

Braintree MA

01 September, 2021

2:53 PM

Description

BRAINTREE, MA — The construction bidding process is underway for a new South Middle School, the Braintree School Committee learned at its meeting Monday night. Mary Mahoney, a project manager for Hill International, the company overseeing the school's construction, told the committee subcontractor bids for the project are due Thursday, and general contractor bids are due Sept. 15, the Patriot Ledger reported. Mahoney said subcontractors from every trade have requested school project documents, and she expects the bidding process to be competitive, since bids on the new Waltham High School are due at the same time. She also said the project remains on track for construction to start by late October. If planning and construction stay on schedule, the new South Middle School will open in the fall of 2023. The 146,000-square-foot building will be constructed behind the existing school and will be the first new school built in Braintree in about 50 years. The new middle school project was approved via a $63 million debt exclusion that Braintree voters supported in a special election last fall. School officials estimate the new school will cost $72.3 million to build, and the state is expected to contribute $31 million. School officials say the new South Middle School will consist of three main parts. The first section will include a dining room/auditorium, media commons, two innovation labs with computers and a band room. The second part of the school will consist of two 2-story sections, organized by grade. This is where classrooms will be, with grades 7 and 8 in one and the lower grades in another. The third part of the building is the athletic wing and includes two gymnasiums, one with bleachers and one without. In the middle will be a courtyard with three seating areas designed to allow teachers to take a classroom outside.