NORWALK — More than $800,000 was approved for the purchase of entirely new furniture and technology equipment as part of Jefferson Elementary School’s remodeling.
The decision to purchase new furniture, following a cost estimate and request for proposals, was approved by the Common Council’s Land Use and Building Management Committee in May. On Wednesday, the committee approved the $824,884.88 request.
The items were put out to bid in November and decided on a package that came out to about $280,000 under budget, Construction Solutions Group Project Manager Mike Faenza said at Wednesday’s meeting. Construction Solutions Group is the East Hartford-based firm conducting the renovation.
“As part of the Jefferson renovation project, the school’s going to be furnished with all new furniture,” Faenza said. “The architecture team that designed the building, designed the furniture package in direct coordination with the drawings and in coordination with the BOE.”
The items finally chosen for purchase follow the planned look of the school and furnishings closely, with a few substitutions, Faenza said.
About $1,126,000 was initially budgeted for the furniture and technology, nearly $300,000 more than ended up being needed, Faenza said.
“It encompasses everything, all classroom furniture,” Faenza said. “We wrote the spec in a way so vendors could store furniture materials and purchase them early and I think that helped along the pricing cause with supply chain issues that we’re having. The thought is now we would be able to get the stuff, and have it stored until we actually need it. Our thought is we would be able to get some savings by doing that.”
The $800,000 purchase includes furnishings for the entire building, from classrooms to administrative offices and specialty spaces.
The items were separated into eight different purchases, one for each supplier, and included furniture, a telephone system, a visitor management system and computer networking electronics, according to city documents.
The largest cost was a purchase from W.B. Mason worth $602,651, according to the documents. The order from the office supplies company which sells office furniture, school supplies and technology, among other things, was for “various furniture items.”
In terms of construction, the crews are currently working on the exterior of the school. Windows are being put in and brick work is being conducted.
“We are trying to get those put in as quickly as possible with the winter months coming,” Faenza said. “Inside all new masonry walls and new Sheetrock walls are being installed. All of the mechanical, electrical and plumbing systems are being put into the building as well. The new standalone gym, which is a major improvement from the old building, has been built and mechanical, electrical systems are being installed in that area as well.”
At the time the move to purchase new furniture was approved in May, Building and Facilities Manager Alan Lo said the current furniture was very dated and mismatched. The committee approved seeking new furniture in May so the current furniture could be disposed of at the end of last school year, Lo said.
“We were deciding when to go out to bid and most school furniture is, so everybody wants the stuff by the summertime. We purposely put this out now, so we get the furniture before the summer schedule comes in,” Lo said. “We are a little bit ahead of the game. Instead of the summer rush to get all the furniture delivered we are ahead of them and that will give us a bit of a pricing position because it’s not peak season for them.”
The building remodeling and renovation of the school has been in progress since last year, with plans to complete the construction next summer. The $33 million project displaced Jefferson students for two school years.
abigail.brone@hearstmediact.com