The Colegrove Park school project is more than 20 percent complete. Windows should be arriving Tuesday. Above, city officials tour the construction site on Friday. See more photos here.
NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — The elementary school project continues on time and under budget.
The $29.7 million renovation of the former Conte Middle School into Colegrove Park Elementary School is almost a quarter complete.
"We are substantially, substantially below the contingency that we incurred," Daniel Daisy of Strategic Building Solutions, the owner's project manager, said. "I think probably about 10 percent of what we planned so far."
The project had budgeted a contingency line item of 10 percent, or around $3 million. The somewhat high amount was to ensure that any issues discovered by tearing into the century-old building could be covered.
Mayor Richard Alcombright said the change orders had run around $220,000 so far for items such extra cleaning of the brick facade and filling in some sinkholes.
"The vast majority of that is reimbursable by the MSBA," he told the School Building Committee on Monday.
The School Building Committee, city councilors and other officials toured the construction site on Friday.
"I worked a lot in Conte and just how much more light and airy and welcoming the space feels already," said committee member Jean Bacon. "Just in this rough state it feels like a whole different space."
The mayor said the committee should get another tour at the "next layer." Dorrie Brooks of Jones Whitsett Architects said a good time would be when the partitions are in place to show the layout.
"You've seen it at the very worst," said Daisy.
Questioned when tours for the public could be scheduled, Daisy said the project would have to be nearly done.
"We need a certain level of completion," he said because the general contractor is carrying the liability.
Daisy said abatement and demolition of the former Drury High School is almost complete. The back parking lot has been paved and lighting, front paving and curbing are being done.
Concrete work at the new entrance and elevator on the southeast corner has begun and masonry work is continuing on the south, east and west facades.
Most of the underground electric has been run and a generator installed. The ground floor slab has also been poured.
The new windows are scheduled to arrive on Tuesday.
"That's going to get rolling immediately," Daisy said.
The retaining wall construction begins next week and the roof on Nov. 1.
Brooks and Nancy Ziter updated the committee on the technology decisions. Brooks said the subcommittee is ahead of schedule in selecting furnishings and infrastructure.
Each classroom will have an Elmo projector and each floor and gathering rooms, like the library, an interactive projector. Administrators and resource rooms will have desktops and teachers will have laptops.
Kindergarten and Grade 1 will have five iPads per classroom plus two carts of 20 iPads each. The other grades will have five laptops in every classroom and 20-25 laptops per cart per section.
"The determination was to do laptops so we can be portable all over," said Nancy Ziter, committee member and district business manager. "Now we're just waiting to see what the price will come in on those."
The final numbers will depend on what can be purchased within the budget — $372,000 for technology and $372,000 for furnishings.
"I think this is coming together in ways that everyone hoped it would have," said the mayor.
The next meeting of the committee is Monday, Nov. 17, at 5 p.m. at City Hall.
northadams.com welcomes critical, respectful dialogue. Name-calling, personal attacks, libel, slander or foul language is not allowed. All comments are reviewed before posting and will be deleted or edited as necessary.
Can't wait to see it finished; it's such a beautiful building. It really makes a difference when your learning environment is pleasant and open and solid and attractive.
MEMBER SIGN IN
The Colegrove Park school project is more than 20 percent complete. Windows should be arriving Tuesday. Above, city officials tour the construction site on Friday. See more 
