School Provides Update On Surfside Property Project

Last year the Nantucket Public Schools acquired a property located at 24 Surfside Road from the town and the School Committee on Tuesday got an update from Chip Clunie, director of facilities and grounds, as to how the district intends to utilize the property with the bid process underway.

Clunie provided a brief presentation to the committee disclosing that the property, which includes an existing house, will be transformed into office space to alleviate some of the pressure/congestion at the Nantucket Elementary School.

A plan was designed by SMRT Architects & Engineers and approved for seven offices, one large meeting space, and a residence on the second floor. When committee member Laura Gallagher asked who the residence would be used for, Clunie said it would be for either faculty or administration but nothing has been finalized.

Sub-bid packages were sent out in February and while the school received bids for painting, fire protection, and roofing, they did not receive any for electrical, HVAC, or waterproofing. The school has not received any general contracting bids either – which has prompted the district to begin looking at a modular design.

“At this point, I am working on the design services bid package, we are going to rebid it, and we will put that bid package out within the month,” Clunie said. “So our hope is to do the modular design. Hopefully, that will become less of a cost, and we will get more of what we need.”

The property is located at the intersection of Surfside Road and First Way adjacent to the school’s central office building. It was purchased by the town in December of 2020 for $370,000 from Pete and Thea Kaizer and is currently valued at $1,159,800.

The property features a one-and-a-half-story home as well as a 787-square-foot garage. Clunie said they will likely move the garage out of its current spot and put it between where the house is located and the NPS Central Office.