The deteriorating condition of the garages under UMass Boston has been nearly impossible to miss–whether one is trying to find a parking space or avoiding the snow and cold by walking under the buildings. A recent small cave-in has made garage repairs an urgent issue, which is being addressed by workers adding temporary plywood to sections of the roof and installing beams as shoring.
Though long-term repairs have been planned for some time, immediate repairs are required, according to Stephan Chait, Assistant Vice Chancellor for Administration and Finance at UMB, to meet requirements established by the Department of Public Safety.
Chait stresses that the primary goals while the work is underway are public safety, maintaining the number of available parking spaces and to remain operational throughout the month. Chait admits that parts of the garage may have to be closed while work is in progress, but the “aim is to have the garage operational as much as possible during the repair work and to have the work completed by January 27th.”
Brisk Waterproofing is the company tackling the temporary repairs, estimated to cost $675,000. Chait said that they were selected through the standard bidding process, taking into account, among other factors, the estimated costs, the estimated time until completion and the abilities of the companies submitting the bids.
Brisk Waterproofing is a large corporation with locations throughout the northeast, which has also done work in Massachusetts at the South Shore Plaza Parking Garage and the Rockingham Mall Parking Garage.
The long-term repairs of the UMB garage were expected to cost around $30 million, though, Chait said, “those figures are kind of old,” and they may have to be revised. Right now Chait is working with the Department of Capital Asset Management (DCAM) doing planing.
The goal, said Chait, is to “do something better and different than we have right now.”
The long-term repairs of the garage will be financed through $25 million that was set aside from a bond bill and money that will have to be borrowed.
“We’re trying to figure out how to best attack this repair project, how to be creative. How do we use the resources we have–space, money–we’re doing planning. Stay tuned.”