BOSTON, MA - State Treasurer Steven Grossman, Chairman of the Massachusetts School Building Authority (“MSBA”) and Katherine Craven, MSBA Executive Director, announced today that the MSBA’s Designer Selection Panel (“DSP”) has recommended that a contract be awarded to Tappé Associates, Inc. for the design of Galvin Middle School in Wakefield. The DSP, which included three representatives from Wakefield, studied each applicant’s qualifications, experience and references and voted to rank the firms in the following order: (1) Tappé Associates, Inc., (2) Drummey Rosane Anderson, Inc., and (3) Mount Vernon Group Architects, Inc.
The creation of the Designer Selection Panel was a major reform of the school building construction process, aimed at selecting the highest quality design services for school districts. The selection of Tappé Associates, Inc. for the project is a significant step towards making the necessary improvements to Galvin Middle School that will result in a vastly improved educational environment for its students.
“The Designer Selection Panel is another innovative way the MSBA helps communities across Massachusetts to build and finance efficient, sustainable and affordable schools. By choosing a designer, Wakefield moves an important step closer to identifying the best solutions for Galvin Middle School,” said Treasurer Grossman.
“This is a great milestone for both the MSBA and Wakefield,” stated Katherine Craven, MSBA Executive Director. “We look forward to continuing our work with the town in creating an improved learning environment for the students and teachers in this district.”
The MSBA strives to find the right-sized, most fiscally responsible, and educationally appropriate solutions to create safe and sound learning environments. It is committed to protecting taxpayer dollars by improving the school building grant process and avoiding the costly mistakes of the past in the funding and construction of schools. The MSBA reformed the Commonwealth’s formerly rampant and unsustainable school building program, which was more than $11 billion in debt.
Since its inception in 2004, the MSBA has made $7.9 billion in reimbursements to cities, towns, and regional school districts for school construction projects. These timely payments have saved municipalities over $2.9 billion in avoided local interest costs and have provided much needed cash flow to communities.