Lowell School Building Committee Approves BRR Five as High School Renovation Holds at $418 Million

LOWELL — May 21, 2026 — Lowell School Building Committee unanimously approves budget transfer as $418 million high school renovation enters final phase. The 16-member committee voted 16-0 at its May 21 meeting to approve Budget Revision Request Five, a soft-cost transfer tied to the ongoing renovation of Lowell High School, which remains within its $418 million total project budget including a previously approved loan order. Kevin Kane of Skanska reported the project is on Change Order 45, with roughly $2.5 million in under-slab soil and slab removal work, and said a favorable soils-engineer finding in the 1920s building basement will produce savings by eliminating the need to excavate, haul, and replace two feet of soil as originally planned. Kyle Regis of Suffolk Construction said granite for the school's west entrance is scheduled to arrive mid-August, leaving a two-to-three-week installation window before the August 27 school opening, and that the contractor "has been notified — we call it being on notice" to work extended shifts if the delivery slips. The committee also learned that original front-door specifications called for center-mullion hardware that was changed to rod-and-pin during submittal review; the project team is now reinstalling center mullions across all exterior door pairs. Minority workforce participation stands at just under 28 percent against a project goal of just over 15 percent. The next meeting is June 25 at 6 p.m. in the Mayor's Reception Room.