Update from Feb 9th Building Committee Meeting

During the Andover High School Building Committee Meeting on 2/9/2023, the committee unanimously voted to narrow the three remaining site approaches to two. The two site approaches selected for further exploration and pricing were “Courtyard” (Addition/Renovation) and “Campus 2” (New Building).

The committee’s decision was based on months of evaluation, community input, and discussions with students, teachers/school staff, town departments, advisory committees, etc. Each approach will meet the educational plan for Andover students, and factors driving the decision to support “Campus 2” over the “Stand Alone” approach included: location on site, accessibility, and community use.

During the meeting, HMFH Architects provided a comparison of the existing athletic programs and site amenities versus potential changes, opportunities for future expansion, pedestrian zones, and reviewed the evaluation criteria and scoring between the Stand Alone and Campus 2 new building site approaches to help inform the committee’s decision. The scoring criteria included consideration of building layout, construction impact, site circulation, sustainability factors, space for potential amenities (outdoor learning space, fields, etc.), and site adjacencies (proximity to field house, efficient layout, clear community zones, etc.).

Over the coming weeks, design documents will be issued to the OPM and Architect’s construction cost estimators for preliminary pricing of both site approaches. Inclusion of a future parking garage and determination of either a renovation of the existing Collins Center or a new auditorium has not yet been decided and is pending cost information to inform the Building Committee’s recommendation.

Pricing information for both site approaches, a parking garage, and Collins Center vs. new auditorium will be presented to the Building Committee in late March.

The following graphics summarizes the 2 site approaches undergoing continued exploration and the most recent floor plan updates. The full February 9th Building Committee presentation can be found here.