More ice and turf for the Andover YMCA Community Center.

Byline: Brian Johnson

As part of the project, scheduled to begin in July, the Andover YMCA Community Center will get a new multipurpose room for seniors and teens, an additional field house gymnasium and an expanded sports complex with an additional sheet of ice, according to the city.

Located at 15200 Hanson Blvd. NW in Andover, the building will also get a new walking track, community rooms and fitness space. The new sheet of ice will be convertible to turf, according to the city.

Jim Dickinson, Andover's city administrator, said the project is driven by demand for "turf and ice time" and "needs throughout the community." The YMCA leases part of the building from the city, Dickinson said.

In all, the 15-year-old building is getting 63,000 square feet of new space, along with maintenance work such as converting the ice rink's R-22 refrigeration to an ammonia-based system in keeping with new environmental standards.

Working with construction manager RJM Construction and design firm 292 Design Group, the city awarded construction bids on June 4. Bids came in about 2.5% higher than the estimates, Dickinson said in an interview.

"We have targeted some value engineering items that we will hit and it will come back within that targeted budget," Dickinson said.

Ben Barickman, vice president at RJM Construction, said there was strong interest in the bidding. In all, 157 bids were submitted across 22 project categories.

Value engineering resulted in about $500,000 in savings, he said at the June 4 City Council meeting.

"The bids did track slightly over budget. We worked with staff and 292 Design Group to come up with value engineering that didn't compromise the integrity of the design or the programing," Barickman said at the City Council meeting.

Major funding sources include $17.3 million in general obligation bonds, a $300,000 allocation from the city's...

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