LOWELL — Now the hard – and expensive – part begins. That was the message from the construction team that briefed the School Building Committee at its October meeting on the nearly $400 million Lowell High School rebuild and renovation project.

“The 1922 building posed many challenges once demolition was done,” said Jim Dowd, Skanska project manager, referring to when the structure was built. “We knew there would be unforeseen problems, but there were more than expected. »

Those problems included what Dowd described as a “considerable” amount of asbestos.

As a result, more than $400,000 in increased costs were deducted from the city’s construction reserve and the opening of the renovated auditorium was delayed from June 2025 to early 2026.

Suffolk Construction dismantled ceilings and opened up walls during a pre-construction assessment of asbestos contamination risk in 2019, but Dowd said the hazardous materials were found in “unique” locations such as sound panels in the ceilings of mechanical rooms. and the acoustic panels of the auditorium.

“They were really bizarre objects,” he said, “and didn’t exist in the other half of the 1922 building.”

Asbestos is a mineral fiber found in rock and soil. According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency website, because of its fiber strength and heat resistance, asbestos has been used in a wide range of building materials such as shingles roofing, ceiling and floor tiles, cement products, insulation and as packing material around pipes.

Some uses of asbestos were banned in the 1970s, and Massachusetts has strict regulatory requirements to protect schoolchildren and school employees from asbestos exposure.

“During the breaks, we will take a good look,” Dowd said. “If there’s something that hasn’t been tested that needs to be tested, we will do it.”

He reassured the committee that the site was closely monitored during remediation to mitigate contamination. Exposure to asbestos increases the risk of developing lung disease.

“Everything is sealed and all work is observed by a third-party hygienist,” Dowd said. “They seal everything and have it inspected before they even touch the asbestos. Then, when they come in and after removing asbestos, under containment, they clean everything, do air tests, a hygienist comes carefully and tests before they can dismantle anything from the containment. There are never any contaminants in the air.

The reconstruction and renovation project began in 2020 with the phase 1 demolition of the doctors’ offices at 75 Arcand Drive, which today houses the Riddick Sports Center, which opened in August 2022.

Phase 2 began with the demolition of the old Riddick Field House. In its place rose the five-story Freshman Academy. The building is anchored on the corner of Promenade Arcand and Boulevard Père Morissette and is attached to the new three-story building called Building D, formed from the demolition of the rear of the 1980s building.

Phase 3 is the renovation of the wing of the 1980s building that faces Père Morissette Boulevard and runs parallel to the Merrimack Canal. The building was constructed to accommodate the increasing student population. The second half of Phase 3 involves the renovation of the Cyrus Irish Auditorium, across the canal on Kirk Street.

Phase 4 is the renovation of the rear or south end of the 1922 building and the 1893 Coburn Hall building.

The first two phases were simple reconstruction projects, while phases 3 and 4 are more complex renovation projects. Campus-wide construction is expected to be completed by August 2026.

To resolve the auditorium issues, Dowd said Suffolk will split that construction into a separate schedule.

“Auditoriums are the most complicated rooms set up in a school,” Dowd told the committee. “All the staging equipment, all those subcontractors. We will use a significant portion of the contingency reserve.

A construction contingency is money set aside to pay for change orders resulting from new demands or unforeseen construction requirements, and $21.2 million was rolled into the overall budget figures. Dowd said nearly $9 million has been used, with another $3 million under review.

“To date, we have received 26 change orders,” he said. “Which puts us at about $9 million remaining.” There is enough money in the budget that we can finish with the remaining funds. We are heading in the right direction.

The School Building Committee meets again on Thursday, December 19 at 6 p.m. in the Mayor’s Reception Room on the second floor of City Hall, 375 Merrimack Street.