Local construction firms gave Abington an early Christmas gift: on-budget bids for the first phase of the $38.5 million fire station and public works complex project.
APC Development of Hanover said it can do the work – which involves laying down a new driveway along the property’s eastern edge, installing a new fuel island for town vehicles, and building new salt sheds – for just under $3.3 million. The company was one of eight firms that submitted bids for the work, said Shawn Reilly, a member of the Fire Station and DPW Building Committee.
“It was well within our budget and we’re very happy with the results,” he said. “We hope the pricing for this bid will bode well for the pricing of the main project when those go out in early 2025.”
The project was split up into two phases in order to prevent any interruptions in DPW operations, according to the committee.
The fuel island, which is currently located in the DPW yard behind the basketball courts, is being relocated permanently to a new pad on the eastern edge of the property. The fuel storage tanks, which are currently located underground, will be replaced with above-ground tanks to prevent possible ground contamination in the future.
The existing salt sheds, which are starting to buckle, are being razed and rebuilt in the complex’s northeast corner.
A new access road will loop around the expanded complex, with the main entry point located along the eastern edge, and run behind the police station to the site’s western side, where the new public works buildings and central fire station will be located.
Work on this first phase will begin early in 2025 and wrap up sometime this spring, according to Reilly. It means the salt sheds will be in place well before the winter of 2025 rolls around.
“Weather permitting, if we don’t have a series of ice storms, it should go straight forward,” he said.
The second phase is significantly more complex and costly. It involves razing the decades old public works buildings, installing new stormwater management infrastructure and utility lines, building new public works storage structures, and constructing the new central fire station.
The town expects to start seeking bids this coming spring. The project is wrapping up the permitting process with the Planning Board, which is required to conduct a technical review of the project’s site plan. The main sticking point between the board and the project committee is a 36-inch wide culvert that runs under the existing site to Island Grove Pond, and whether it needs to be upgraded.
Phase 1 of the project is not expected to interfere with DPW operations, according to Reilly. However, during the main construction phase, the former North School property will be used as a storage yard for DPW vehicles and equipment. The school building itself, which was shuttered years ago, will not be used. The DPW offices will remain at its current location on Summer Street.
Work on Phase 2 could begin in mid-2025 and wrap up by 2027.
Abington voters in 2023 approved a debt exclusion override to pay for the project by a vote of 582-370, or 60% to 40%.
[DISCLOSURE: The author is a member of the Abington Planning Board]
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