Working with the town fathers, QA+M Architecture secured multiple grants for the Andover Town Hall project. A STEAP grant accommodated a community room addition, and a Small Cities grant made accessibility upgrades to the existing structure possible.

The original project designs called for the proposed elevator to be located within the existing building footprint. However, when the STEAP grant was put in place, the design team changed the schematics to feature an “entry connector” that would house stairs, handicap accessible lavatories, mechanical equipment, and the new elevator.

Multiple grants posed a serious challenge for the project. The construction work was broken into two distinct halves, each associated with its corresponding grant. The design team’s administrative efforts included managing the project as if it were two. Schedules of value, applications for payment, change orders, punch lists, retainage, and project closeout were all executed twice.