Lexington High School Construction Project Update

The School Building Committee convened on Thursday, May 4, 2023, to review the Owner’s Project Manager (OPM) Selection Process, along with the preferred firm to be named OPM for the high school project. Seven firms responded to our Request for Services RFS, and after the paper screening, four of the firms emerged as finalists invited to interview with the OPM Selection Team.  After many discussions, material reviews, and reference checks, Dore and Whittier was identified as the preferred firm.  The OPM Selection Team asked the School Building Committee (SBC) to take a formal vote to approve their recommendation, and they unanimously endorsed Dore and Whittier as the preferred OPM.  The Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA) will take the recommendation into consideration and make a final decision soon.  

Lexington knows Dore & Whittier’s work well, as they have been employed as OPM since 2017.  One of the many aspects of their work that we appreciate is that their core project management team is strong, and they handle the day-to-day operations, apart from their specialists or consultants.  From past experiences, they are problem solvers, they engage the right people, they are efficient, and they get results.  D & W plans to engage a green engineer as a subcontractor, and this individual helped the Town of Lexington develop the Integrated Design Policy, so the community’s expectations will be known and understood from the outset. D & W also has an educational consultant (a former high school math teacher) whom I worked with in another school district, and he was instrumental in engaging all stakeholders, including those who are the most important - the educators and students who will be spending the most time in the classrooms and common spaces. We submitted our recommendation endorsement of Dore and Whittier to the MSBA on May 10, 2023, which was followed by a formal meeting with the MSBA on June 5th. The MSBA accepted our D & W endorsement and approved them, Dore & Whittier, as the OPM of the Lexington High School Building Project. Many thanks to Mark Barrett, Mike Cronin, John Himmel, Kathleen Lenihan, and Dan Voss for all of their assistance!