NORTH NORWICH – Construction crews are working second shift to put the final touches on the $18 million capital improvement project at BOCES. The project added 46,000 square feet to the existing footprint at the North Norwich facility operated by the Board of Cooperative Educational Services, which serves 16 component districts in Delaware, Chenango, Madison and Otsego counties.

Originally slated to take five years for completion, the building project has come in both under budget and ahead of schedule, according to Steve Perrin, director of Career and Technical Education.

“There are a few little cosmetic things that need to be done,” Perrin reported last week. Those items remaining on the punch list at the DCMO BOCES Chenango Campus include finishing up tile work, installing terrazzo kickboards in some hallways, a little painting and a bit of behind-the-scenes electrical work. These should all be completed within the next two weeks, Perrin said.

For the last three years, the administrator has been meeting weekly with the contractors, which he said has helped keep the project on an aggressive timetable. He also credits the planning process, which took a full two years prior to breaking ground on the project in 2006, and the contractors themselves, particularly general contractor Sarkisian Brothers, for the project’s success.

Despite a few minor change orders over the summer, Perrin said they have been able to keep close to original projections. “We’re coming in just a little bit under budget,” he reported.