BROCKTON — You’ve read headlines for years about the millions of federal dollars coming to Brockton. Those projects are now either underway or nearly done.
Brockton’s most visible sign of American Rescue Plan Act money has to be the scaffolding that in recent weeks has gone up all over city hall. The staging is prep for workers to plug gaps in the walls and re-roof the entire building.
“We’re going to bring this building back to the glory that it is,” said Dan Pallotta, the city’s point-person for all its ARPA projects.
Architect Wesley Lyng Minor designed the iconic building, which some consider the most beautiful in the state. Construction ended in 1894. In the century-plus since then, the Victorian Romanesque edifice has gotten “tired,” to use a word Pallotta often invokes as he describes the need for updates at this and his other ARPA projects.
Fresh air, finally
This renovation is no coat of paint, though. It’s renewing the underlying systems of the grand old pile that celebrates the Grand Army of the Republic. In the next nine months to a year, crews will install a new heating and air conditioning system. Air will finally move throughout the whole building, Pallotta said, turning over two or three times every hour. That’s one of the reasons ARPA will foot the bill, as it has for schools all over the country: It’s to better manage air flow to prepare for future epidemics.
If you’ve spent much time in city hall, you know how stale the air gets. “Stiff” is how John M. Messia, director of constituent services for the mayor’s office, describes it. The work aims to bring fresh air to every square foot of city hall. All 49,263 of them.
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New slate roof
Now let’s talk about that roof. Pallotta’s investigations uncovered that the leaks that plague the building aren’t from the slate roof or walls that are as much as a foot-and-a-half deep. It’s the flashing and 110-year-old iron drainage pipes. Taking a “belt and suspenders” approach, crews will remove the slate tiles, saving the ones they can, then put a membrane over the whole roof before laying down slate again. In addition to however many of the slate tiles that can be saved, Pallotta sourced matching slate from Vermont.
Another aspect of the prep work was sending a drone over every inch of the exterior to locate air gaps.
The scaffolding isn’t just for worker safety. The bottom of each scaffold is being walled off to discourage anyone from climbing.
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Will Brockton City Hall stay open during project?
You may be wondering how city hall will stay open during the project. The plan is to work from the top down, floor by floor, Mayor Robert F. Sullivan said. He has lined up 5,000 square feet of office space at Brockton Commons, which is right across the plaza from city hall.
“City hall will stay open the whole time,” Sullivan said.
Pallotta has managed major projects around the state for more than 25 years. He said Sullivan deserves credit for leveraging ARPA money.
“This mayor is using his federal one-time dollars better than anyone,” Pallotta said. “He has truly maximized the ability to provide for the residents by doing these projects.”
Cost breakdown
The renovation of Brockton City Hall is a $12.4 million project, paid with federal tax dollars through the American Rescue Plan Act.
- Contractor – Ameresco: $6,708,057
- Designer – HKT: $383,035
- Roofing contractor – Folan Waterproofing of Easton: $4,444,900
- Rent at Brockton Commons during renovation: $44,400
- Various vendors: $400,000
- Contingencies: $436,339
Source: City of Brockton figures as of Feb. 5, 2024
Send your news tips to reporter Chris Helms by email at CHelms@enterprisenews.com or connect on X at @HelmsNews.
