$80M Walsh School ​“Alteration” Faces Challenges

The town’s Public Building Commission last week approved the next step in the Walsh Intermediate School renovation and expansion project by voting to select option A, an option that has fewer construction phases, but a greater challenge in terms of reimbursement costs. At more than $80 million, the project is the most costly in the town’s history and full state reimbursement – anticipated at 35 percent at this point – is critical and at this juncture, uncertain.

The total for the option A is $81.7 million; $88.2 was approved by the Representative Town Meeting in June, but that amount is closer to the option B – a ​“like new” configuration that was rejected by the building commission.

In choosing option A, the district share would be $56.5 million (with full reimbursement of 35.36 percent) or $59.2 million (with a reduced rate of 32 percent). The final number is contingent on the costs covered by a space waiver, which allows for adjustments in reimbursement for square footage based on use of the space.

That bottom line includes state reimbursement at 17.68 percent for the Board of Education offices, which will be relocated to Walsh.

So, the town would receive between $25.7 million and $28.4 million toward the project, depending on the state’s final decision regarding reimbursement. 

The latest decision came after a meeting between owner’s rep Colliers International, Superintendent of Schools Hamlet Hernandez, and the state Office and School Construction Grants and Review (OSCGR) in Hartford on Aug. 9 regarding the sticky issue of state reimbursement. (An owner’s representative acts on behalf of the town in terms of site selection and design and construction phases.)

Charles Warrington, Jr., of Colliers International, explained that the state has tightened its rules on reimbursement due to budget constraints. He said while the state supports the hybrid option, there are ​“challenges” in the project that will require a space waiver.

State reimbursement is determined by a formula that takes into account the school’s eight-year high enrollment (944 in Branford’s case) and the state-determined square footage of a given project (154,000 square feet). For Branford, reimbursement is 35 percent of the project cost of $88.2 million, which is $58 million to the town. However, the anticipated square footage of the Walsh project is slightly more than 170,000 square feet, which may reduce state reimbursement.

A space waiver takes into account other aspects of the project. In Walsh’s case, the renovation of the current ​“cafetorium” into a sloped auditorium counts as ​“new program space,” which makes it eligible for state reimbursement.

Hernandez said the state was receptive to the uniqueness of the open walls building, which was built in 1972.

The importance to the community of the Walsh pool was described as the crux of the argument to the state in seeking the space waiver.

The $80M ​“Alteration”

Semantics also comes into play. The project is determined to be an alteration extension rather than renovation, which has been commonly used in its description. Colliers rep Scott Pellman said that according to the state, if a building is renovated 75 percent of the building must be maintained.

Option A was broken down into two parts, both based on the same design: one has the full state reimbursement rate of 35.36 percent based on state requirements ​“on the inside face of exterior walls.” The second is calculated based a reduced rate of reimbursement. The space waiver would allow the full reimbursement.

In both options the bottom line would be the same, but depending on reimbursement to the town, the cost to the town would be to $59.2 million (about $1 million higher than the approved amount) or $56.5 million, which is within the approved amount.

The $59 million price tag would require some trimming since the town approved a $58 million cap on the project. ​“If we don’t get the space waiver, cuts will have to be made,” said Peter Banca, commission chair.(Banca is seated next to First Selectman Jamie Cosgrove at right in top photo.) 

The building would be configured into three stories, the first including the auditorium, pool, and administrative and central offices, and the other two stories for academics.

Beyond the issue of fewer construction phases, option A’s benefits include swing space for classrooms and administration; however, there are more costs that make the project potentially ineligible for reimbursement.

Option B for Walsh was presented as a ​“like new” project with full property upgrades. There would be modification and refurbishment of walls to meet energy codes. That option would be complicated by the increased duration of construction and the disruption of the educational environment. There would also be the need for portable classrooms for swing space, which would add $4 million to the tab.

Both A and B options would require the space waiver, but option A was favored by all concerned.

Pending the outcome of a decision regarding the space waiver, Warrington said schematics would be needed by the end of this year.

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