City Council sets public hearing for Lowell High renovation cost overrun loan order

LOWELL — The City Council voted unanimously Tuesday evening to send a $39.8 million loan order to cover the projected increase in the cost of the Lowell High School renovation project to a Dec. 2 public hearing.

The increase in cost stems from a delay in the Phase 4 renovation of the 1892 Coburn Hall due to a problem with a basement slab, pushing the estimated project completion from August 2026 to August 2027. That delay raises the total cost of the project as approved by the Massachusetts School Building Authority from $381.9 million to almost $422 million.

School Building Committee member Kendrick Del Orbe urged the City Council to support the loan order to cover the increased cost, but said as a committee member and a taxpayer, it is “a very apprehensive number.”

“I understand that, as councilors, we don’t like to see increases in taxes and increases in the budget like this, but I think the fact of the matter is that residents voted for this and I think it is important that we reach the finish line,” Del Orbe said.

Responding to a question from Councilor Corey Robinson, City Manager Tom Golden said the increase represented in the loan order would translate to a baseline tax increase of 1.6% in the next fiscal year.

If the City Council ultimately approves the loan order after the public hearing, it will be the second time this project has seen a nearly $40 million increase in cost. In March 2022, supply chain issues stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic caused a $38.5 million increase in the estimated cost, which was largely paid for through an increase in the maximum facilities grant by the MSBA of $36.9 million.

The MSBA is unlikely to step in to cover this latest cost overrun.

“I’m going to be honest, it doesn’t look promising at this point. It happened the first time, we were lucky to receive that money … But until things change, currently right now this will be on the taxpayers here in the city of Lowell,” Golden said of the likelihood of MSBA assistance.

Assistant City Manager for Fiscal Affairs/Chief Financial Officer Conor Baldwin said current spending on the project is still being done through the $381 million cost approved in 2022.

“The additional amounts to be borrowed will come at the end, and so the tax increase will come as the city issues bonds to finance the cash flow of the project,” Baldwin explained to the councilors. “We did just issue $25 million in bonds this past fall, so some of that increase will come onto next year’s tax levy, but it will continue to layer on the tax levy as money is spent on the project.”

Councilor John Descoteaux asked for a sense of whether this would be the last time a new loan order is needed or if it could possibly happen a third time. Skanska Project Manager Jim Dowd said they have not yet begun work in Coburn Hall, but the cost increase reflected in the new loan order accounts for that work, and other potential issues or price increases along the way.

“We haven’t started into that building, so we don’t know what is going to be unforeseen, but we have contingency for that,” said Dowd. “The nature of renovation is you don’t know what you are going to run into, but we do have contingencies for that, and the goal is not to come back for additional funding.”

Later in the meeting the City Council heard an update from Golden on security concerns from the high school renovation project as requested by Councilor Erik Gitschier, who first highlighted some of the specific issues at hand.

“No matter what anybody thinks, the council gets a lot of phone calls from parents, teachers, everybody who has said they have gone back and forth over at the high school trying to get doors fixed, like Door 23 over in the athletic wing,” said Gitschier. “The quad gate does not secure properly, stairway doors to Father Morissette Boulevard do not secure at all, the main entrance handicap door is broken and can be easily pulled from the vestibule. The cafe stairs under the bridge door do not work properly … These are just a few, and if we are looking at safety down there and securing that building, I think these are simple fixes.”

Those fixes, Gitschier said, should be done soon after the city is notified of the issue, but “they are not being done.”

In response, Golden said there was a meeting scheduled for Wednesday with Lowell Police Superintendent Greg Hudon and other officials to talk about those concerns. Golden also noted that he and Superintendent of Schools Liam Skinner are having ongoing discussions about those issues.