Massachusetts public building bids, in plain English.
Issue #3 covers every housing authority solicitation on COMMBUYS that is still open this week (pulled Fri Oct 9): 56 in all, 22 of them new since last week and marked New. I read each notice. For every job you get what it is, when it's due, and what could trip you up. Every item links to the official notice.
New rear exterior doors on the apartment buildings, maintenance-room doors and the community room's main entry: frames, leaves, hardware and accessories.
Watch: The site visit was Oct 6. Bids go in at biddocs.com.
Tear out and replace kitchen cabinets, appliances and countertops. New kitchen flooring in unit 16. Duct the range hood to the outside.
Watch: The pre-bid was Sep 18. Bids go in at biddocs.com.
Remove the old windows, prep the masonry and wood-framed openings, and install new double-hung windows with interior and exterior trim.
Watch: The pre-bid was Oct 7.
Strip the asphalt roofing and vinyl siding; install a new asphalt roof and vinyl siding with PVC trim. Minor electrical fixture replacement too.
Watch: The pre-bid was Sep 29. The 5% deposit applies to general bids and sub-bids. Bids go in at biddocs.com, not COMMBUYS.
Replace the furnaces and hot water heaters with electric equipment: air-source heat pumps and electric water heaters, per Hopkinton's capital plan.
Watch: The walkthrough with BLW Engineers met at Brampton Circle on Sep 23, but the capital plan lists this project number under Bisson Rue, so confirm which buildings are in scope. Chelmsford HA staff run this one too.
Replace all bulkhead doors. Swampscott's capital plan lists FISH 291085 as “Bulkhead replacement” at M. Kelly Vet and Family Housing, $123,400 total cost.
Watch: The site was open for inspection on Oct 7. Run by Chelmsford HA staff (Sharon Smith).
Renovate a vacant unit (the notice says “the vacant 200-1 unit”). Swampscott's capital plan lists FISH 291084 as “Vacancy Renovation” at M. Kelly Vet and Family Housing, $122,300 total cost.
Watch: The site was open for inspection on Oct 7. Run by Chelmsford HA staff (Sharon Smith).
Pre-bid walkthroughs still ahead. Some are the only chance to see the site before you price, so they fill up calendars fast.
| When | Job and meeting point | Bid due |
|---|---|---|
| Tue Oct 13 9 AM | Somerville HA: On-call HVAC services 30 Memorial Rd, administration building | Fri Oct 23 |
| Tue Oct 13 11 AM | Great Barrington HA: Vacant unit renovation 2 Bernard Gibbons Drive, outside the community building | Fri Oct 30 |
| Tue Oct 13 11 AM | Randolph HA: Fire exit and entry doors One Decelle Drive, courtyard | Tue Oct 20 |
| Tue Oct 13 1:30 PM | East Longmeadow HA: Re-roofing at three sites 81 Quarry Hill, then the three sites | Fri Oct 23 |
| Wed Oct 14 10 AM | Leominster HA: Emergency hallway lights 33–49 Laurie Drive | Fri Oct 23 |
| Wed Oct 14 10 AM | Norwood HA: Tub-to-shower replacement Community Building, 6 Adams St | Fri Oct 30 |
| Wed Oct 14 2 PM | Middleton HA: Parking lot, sidewalks, ramps and stairs 80 South Main St, in front of the office | Wed Oct 28 |
| Wed Oct 21 1 PM | Chelsea HA: Roll-in showers, Margolis Apartments 260 Clark Ave | Wed Nov 18 |
By appointment: snow removal site visits for Avon, Bridgewater, Stoughton and Taunton, Greg Caswell.
Replace four steel fire doors, one entrance door with its framing and large sidelight, and one garage door: tear-out, prep, and new doors, frames and hardware. The notice doesn't give the building; Randolph's capital plan lists “Replace Fire Exit & Main Entry Doors” at McCauley Murray Lewis (667-03), $89,843 total cost, which is likely this job.
Watch: Site visit Tue Oct 13, 11 AM, One Decelle Drive (meet in the courtyard in front of the office entrance). Bids go in at biddocs.com. Separate from Randolph's Sunshine Ave door job, due Oct 13.
Exterior door replacement. The notice itself says only “Doors”; the attached spec is titled “Rowley 254047 Exterior Doors.” Rowley's fiscal 2027 plan lists two door projects, “Replace Exterior Doors” at Plantation ($140,585 total development cost) and “Exterior Door/Screen Door Replacement” ($216,876, no development named), so this is likely one of them.
Watch: The pre-bid was Oct 8. Run by Chelmsford HA staff (Sharon Smith).
Groton HA wants a designer for construction administration on a project with a $1,225,000 construction cost. The notice doesn't name the project; the details are in the document attached to the notice.
Watch: For design firms, not contractors. Run by Chelmsford HA staff (Sharon Smith).
Design and construction administration for converting heating and hot water systems, and upgrading building electrical service, at five buildings of the Edwin A. Seibel Apartments, 121–125 Nonotuck St (elderly development 667-2).
Watch: For design firms, through the state's Designer Selection Network (project 137105), not COMMBUYS. Questions about the network go to the EOHLC Designer Selection Coordinator.
Replace bathroom ventilation at 35 Fruit Street and 137 High Street.
Watch: The pre-bid walkthrough was Oct 7. Documents at biddocs.com.
The rest of a site-wide modernization: 38 units in five 8-unit buildings. New kitchens and baths, asbestos flooring removed and replaced with resilient and tile floors, and failing or out-of-code mechanical, electrical and plumbing systems replaced.
Watch: Filed sub-bids (tile, resilient flooring, painting, plumbing, HVAC, electrical) were due Oct 7. RFIs closed Sep 29. 5% bid deposit. Participation goals: 8.6% MBE, 8.8% WBE, 3% VBE.
Replace the water service at 56–62 Pond Street (Lower Pond), plus concrete sidewalk and pad work, work in the basement, resetting granite curb and fencing, and restoration. Designed by GCG Associates.
Watch: The work has to be finished by Nov 15, 2026. RFIs close Fri Oct 16 at noon. Documents at BidDocs.com.
Fire alarm and sprinkler system upgrade at Cusack Terrace (development 667-5), designed by LIRO-Hill.
Watch: The site walk was Sep 29.
Replace two heating boilers, swap two gas-fired water heaters for three new ones, and remove the old solar hot-water pre-heat system.
Watch: The pre-bid was Sep 29.
Install emergency lighting in the common hallways at 33–49 Laurie Drive. Leominster's capital plan lists “Emergency Lights Common Hallways” at Laurie Drive (667-1), $49,913 total cost, planned for fiscal 2027.
Watch: Pre-bid Wed Oct 14, 10–11 AM, at the site.
Fire alarm and sprinkler work at Caggiano Plaza (170 South Common St), McGee House (37 Green St) and Shepard & Warren (35 Shepard St), designed by MacRitchie Engineering.
Watch: Filed sub-bids were due Oct 9. The pre-bid was Oct 1.
Replace faulty gate valves and abate asbestos pipe insulation at Village Green (667-3), 1 Village Green. East Longmeadow's capital plan lists this project (FISH 085083) at $12,100 total cost, under Village Green 667-1.
Watch: The pre-bid walkthrough was Oct 8. Bids go in at biddocs.com, not COMMBUYS.
Tear off and replace the asphalt shingle roofs at 46 Thompkins Ave, 3 Lyric Ave and 1 Lull St. East Longmeadow's capital plan lists this project (FISH 085088) at $92,000 total cost.
Watch: Site visit Tue Oct 13, 1:30 PM: meet at the housing authority, 81 Quarry Hill, then go to the three sites. Bids go in at Projectdoc.com (project 261873), not COMMBUYS, with a 5% bid deposit.
Replace and modify fire alarm systems at Chestnut Court (667-1), the Jean Elder congregate house (667-3), Sunrise Ave (689-2) and Ann Whalen Apartments (667-2). Amherst's capital plan has an ARPA-funded “Complete Fire Alarm System” project (FISH 008100, $231,164) covering the first three of those developments.
Watch: General bidders need DCAMM certification in Electrical. The optional bidders' conference was Oct 7. Bids go in at biddocs.com, not COMMBUYS.
Replace apartment and utility doors and hardware, repair the metal railings, and paint the courtyard walls, decking, and the undersides of the walkways.
Watch: Filed sub-bids (miscellaneous and ornamental metals, painting) were due Oct 9. Participation goals: 15.3% MBE, 6.9% WBE, 3% VBE. The site visit was Sep 17.
Repair the concrete parapet walls and modify the aluminum guardrails on 51 concrete balconies, then paint. The building stays occupied.
Watch: HUD procurement rules apply, with both state and Davis-Bacon wage rates. The walkthrough was Sep 29.
Exterior renovation: new roof, siding, windows and exterior doors.
Watch: Roofing and flashing filed sub-bids are due Tue Oct 20, 11 AM. The pre-bid was Oct 6. Participation goals: 7.5% MBE, 6.9% WBE, 3% VBE.
Accessibility and compliance work at the BHA's Lower Mills development (IFB 2373-02). The notice itself has no scope; it's all in the advertisement attached to it.
Watch: Read the attached advertisement for the scope, any pre-bid, and bid requirements.
Parking lot, sidewalk, ramp and stair work. The notice says no more than that; the details are in the advertisement attached to it. Middleton's fiscal 2027 plan proposes three projects at Orchard Circle: paving, curb cuts, grading and drainage ($385,078 total cost), an ADA ramp repair ($9,500) and a main entry railing replacement ($44,921). This job may cover one or more of them.
Watch: Pre-bid Wed Oct 14, 2 PM: meet in front of the housing authority office, 80 South Main St. Run by Chelmsford HA staff (Sharon Smith).
Alterations to the common bathrooms at the Hauser Building (667-4), designed by Abacus Architects + Planners. The advertisement attached to the notice is numbered 010149, which Arlington's capital plan lists as “ADA Bathrooms in Community Room” at the Hauser Building, $125,000 total cost.
Watch: The notice lists a pre-bid on Oct 1 at 8 AM at the Hauser Building, 37 Drake Road, but the notice only went up Oct 7, so check the attached advertisement for the actual date.
The BHA wants an architect or engineer (RFP 2421-01) for the modernization of the 202 units at Fairmount Apartments. This is a re-advertisement; the details are in the advertisement attached to the notice.
Watch: For design firms, not contractors.
New bath exhaust fans with humidity and motion controls, each vented to the outside, in 96 bathrooms, plus a new kitchen hood in every apartment. Two adjoining elderly developments, 96 one-bedroom units.
Watch: Filed sub-bids (roofing and flashing, HVAC, electrical) are due Thu Oct 15, 2 PM. The site visit was Oct 6. Participation goals: 6.3% MBE, 9.4% WBE, 3% VBE.
Remove tubs, tile surrounds, plumbing trim and flooring; install new shower pans, shower surrounds, plumbing trim and LVT flooring. Norwood's capital plan lists “Tub Surround Replacement - Phase 1” at Willowood (667-1), FISH 220092, $170,320 total cost, which is likely this job.
Watch: Plumbing filed sub-bids are due Fri Oct 16, 1 PM. Pre-bid Wed Oct 14, 10 AM, Community Building, 6 Adams St. General-bid RFIs close Oct 26 at 1 PM. COMMBUYS lists the bid opening as 1:00 AM on Oct 30. Every other deadline in the notice is at 1 PM, so that may be a typo; until the bid documents at biddocs.com confirm the time, plan to have your bid in by the end of Oct 29.
Drywall, insulation, a new kitchen, bathroom work, flooring, doors, ceilings, painting and code fixes in unit #39 at 9 Newtowne Ct. 60 calendar days from notice to proceed.
Watch: Davis-Bacon wages apply, and a 50% payment bond is required if the contract tops $25,000. Request the quote documents from [email protected].
Kitchen, bathroom and finish renovation of one vacant townhouse-style unit (unit 3) at Flag Rock Village (705-1).
Watch: Pre-bid Tue Oct 13, 11 AM, outside the community building at 2 Bernard Gibbons Drive. Bids go in at biddocs.com, not COMMBUYS, with a 5% bid deposit.
Roll-in showers at Margolis Apartments (16-4), designed by Architectural Solutions Inc. The scope is in the bid documents.
Watch: Pre-bid Wed Oct 21, 1 PM, 260 Clark Ave. Questions to James Krasco, [email protected]. COMMBUYS lists bids due Wed Nov 18, 1 PM; since the listing is titled only “Plumbing,” check the attached advertisement for whether that's the general bid date and for any filed sub-bid deadlines.
On bigger state-funded building jobs, certain trades bid straight to the housing authority, before the general contractors do. If you're one of those trade subs, this is your deadline, not the general bid date.
| Sub-bids due | Job and trades | General bids |
|---|---|---|
| Thu Oct 15 2 PM | East Bridgewater HA: Bath fans + kitchen hoods Roofing and flashing, HVAC, electrical | Thu Oct 29 |
| Fri Oct 16 1 PM | Norwood HA: Tub-to-shower replacement, phase 1 Plumbing | Fri Oct 30 |
| Tue Oct 20 11 AM | Mashpee HA: Roof, siding, windows, doors Roofing and flashing | Tue Oct 27 |
These are the actual titles on COMMBUYS. If you search by trade, you'll never find them.
| Listed as | What it actually is |
|---|---|
| “FISH 139064” Hopkinton HA | Furnaces and water heaters replaced with electric heat pumps and water heaters |
| “Estimated Construction Cost $390,000” Brockton HA | Window replacement at Golden Circle |
| “FISH 254047” Rowley HA | Exterior door replacement |
| “Designer” Groton HA | Construction administration on a $1,225,000 project |
| “FISH 291085” Swampscott HA | Bulkhead door replacement at M. Kelly Vet and Family Housing |
| “FISH 291084” Swampscott HA | Renovation of a vacant unit at M. Kelly Vet and Family Housing |
| “Middleton” Middleton HA | Parking lot, sidewalks, ramps and stairs |
| “Plumbing” Chelsea HA | Roll-in showers, phase 2, at Margolis Apartments |
| “ASHP Suffolk County” Chelmsford HA | Annual maintenance on ductless mini-split heat pumps for the Suffolk County housing authorities |
What's a FISH number? FISH is the Financial Information System for Housing, the state housing office's tracker for capital projects. Per the state, every project, large and small, gets a FISH number. The first three digits identify the housing authority, and the rest is the project. Match it against the authority's capital plan and you get the job, the development and the budget. That's how the Swampscott and Hopkinton jobs above were decoded.
Every housing authority files a capital plan with the state. I went through all 230 on the state's portal. In the 131 plans in this year's new format, 93 authorities list 453 projects for fiscal 2027 (July 2026 through June 2027), about $95 million in total project costs. Here's that work by trade:
| Trade | Projects | Budgets |
|---|---|---|
| Paving, walkways & site | 62 | $15.8M |
| Heating, boilers & HVAC | 47 | $15.8M |
| Windows & doors | 56 | $13.2M |
| Elevators | 6 | $11.4M |
| Roofing & gutters | 28 | $6.6M |
| Kitchens & baths | 40 | $6.2M |
| Siding, masonry & exterior | 36 | $4.8M |
| Fire alarm & sprinklers | 14 | $3.8M |
| Electrical & generators | 22 | $2.8M |
| Water, sewer & plumbing | 19 | $2.5M |
| Unit turnovers & renovations | 36 | $1.7M |
| Accessibility (ADA) | 5 | $1.5M |
| Security & access | 13 | $1.3M |
| Interiors, flooring & painting | 21 | $1.2M |
| Everything else | 48 | $6.1M |
A rough split by the words in each project's title. Paving and site includes a $5 million flood-resilience project in Gloucester. Work the authorities do with their own staff is left out.
The ten biggest planned projects. Gloucester and Woburn alone list about $38 million between them.
| Authority | Planned job | Budget |
|---|---|---|
| Woburn HA | Elevator major upgrade (listed as a funding request) | $7,653,603 |
| Gloucester HA | Storm resilience: trimming and site flood protection, Riverdale Park | $5,047,129 |
| Gloucester HA | Mechanical and electrical systems, Riverdale Park | $4,880,995 |
| Salem HA | Windows, balconies and building envelope, Charter St | $2,765,440 |
| Salem HA | Paving, Rainbow Terrace | $2,515,377 |
| Woburn HA | Roofs, Nichols Street Extension | $2,363,920 |
| Gloucester HA | New elevator, Curtis B. Clark | $2,250,000 |
| Woburn HA | Bathroom modernization | $1,910,846 |
| Gloucester HA | Meter upgrade, Lincoln Park | $1,623,740 |
| Wakefield HA | Fire alarm and Federal Pacific panel upgrade, Harts Hill | $1,364,004 |
Each budget links to the authority's plan. These are plans, not bids. The plans themselves warn that costs often rise before construction and that projects get delayed or split into phases. Budgets are total project costs, including design. Every authority's plan, one page each.
Building jobs from towns, cities and state agencies that appeared on COMMBUYS since last week's issue. Earlier ones are in Issue #2 and Issue #1. I cleaned up the titles but haven't read these notices yet, so check each one for scope and requirements.
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