By Ethan Forman
Staff writer
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DANVERS — It cost about $250,000 more than expected to fix up the Dunn Wing as part of the nearly $80 million Danvers High renovation project, Town Manager Wayne Marquis told selectmen Tuesday.
The renovations are complete, Marquis said, and they cost $750,000. The Dunn Wing is now ready to accommodate 1,000 students when school starts Sept. 8, he said.
"The building is ready to be used as a school," Marquis said.
Department of Public Works Director David Lane, who is overseeing the school building project, said it was unknown how much it would cost to fix up the Dunn Wing, which was last used as a school in 2005.
Project officials estimated it would cost $250,000 to fix the heating, ventilation and air conditioning units on the roof, Lane said, and another $250,000 to get the three-story, 90,000-square-foot building shipshape.
Because of space needs, crews had to build additional classrooms, the superintendent's central office, art rooms and science labs. Crews also created a band room from the former DPW warehouse and built a guidance office in a vestibule of the Link Corridor.
Money for the Dunn Wing renovations came from a contingency fund, about 8 percent of the entire project's total cost. This money was set aside to handle the unexpected, Lane said.
Despite the unforeseen costs, the use of the Dunn Wing as swing space will save the town millions in rent for portable classrooms, Lane said.
Meanwhile, project officials have stumbled upon another unexpected cost after crews demolished the North Core. There, they found a foundation with a layer of asbestos waterproofing applied to it, Lane said. The additional cost to abate and dispose of the asbestos will be about $100,000.
The Dunn Wing was built in the 1970s to accommodate an overflow of high school students at the building at 60 Cabot Road. It later became a middle school, which closed in 2005 with the opening of the renovated Holten-Richmond Middle School on Conant Street. The Dunn Wing is slated to be torn down in two years when it is no longer needed for classroom space and other parts of the high school project are finished.
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For those wishing to tour Dunn Wing, a community open house is planned for Aug. 30, 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. and 5:30 to 7 p.m., Dunn Wing, Danvers High School, 60 Cabot Road. All members of the community are invited. Students will be on hand to give tours, and members of the administration will be available to answer questions.
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Staff writer Ethan Forman can be reached at 978-338-2673 or by e-mail at eforman@salemnews.com.
