Community Center Building Project
Click on this image from the Community Center Drop Off Area to view the slideshow
The Town of Pembroke's registered voters passed article 27 at town meeting held on June 22, 2021 for the purpose of designing and constructing a Community Center to replace the existing center at 128 Center Street. The voters then passed a ballot question at the election held June 26, 2021 for a Proposition 2 and 1/2 debt exclusion override to fund this project for the estimated costs at that time, $19,000,000. That figure was reduced from a March 10, 2020 presentation to the Board of Selectmen in which the 33,240 square foot project underwent a cost reset from $23,100,800 down to $18,872,000 as a result of lower bid results being seen throughout the industry in the spring of 2021 as a result of COVID impacts on the construction industry. The facts over time showed that the temporary reset data did not hold, and the Town continues to seek ways to bridge the funding gap to create a new space for seniors that will serve all of Pembroke’s senior population.
In the last year, the project has been under administrative intense scrutiny and has experienced significant value engineering to combine services, and reduce, modify or eliminate all possible non-programming spaces in an effort to offset rising costs of materials, fuel, labor and other inflationary issues. Long lead times for orders of components, chips, steel, aluminum, other metal components and fabricating tools and products have also driven costs higher and resulted in far larger cost per square foot bid results across the state and the country. On September 7, 2022 the project managers, architects and engineers reported on the bids received to fully execute this long awaited project.
The project was approved by the Planning Board for site plan approval, the Historic District Commission for demolition permit of the existing structure and construction of the new structure, is supported by the Recreation Commission and Council on Aging and the populations they serve as well as the residents who have supported the project through meetings, hearings, forums and town meeting. The Pembroke Select Board continues to discuss the project and its facets each meeting, and has approved the Town Manager's recommendation to include an article in the October 18, 2022 warrant to bridge the funding gap and begin the project.
Public Forum: August 23, 2022, September 8, 2022, October 5, 2022
To see the current bid specifications and timetable with addenda and drawings, click this link.