Hingham Approves Funding for South Shore Country Club Repairs

The Hingham Select Board has approved a $307,097 contract to repair a deteriorating wall in the function hall at South Shore Country Club, citing structural concerns and the need to complete the work before a scheduled wedding in March.

The board authorized Town Administrator Tom Mayo to sign an agreement with APC Development Group, which submitted the lowest bid for the project. The repairs will be funded through the country club’s retained earnings and revenues.

Aging Wall to Be Rebuilt

The function hall, which overlooks the golf course, has experienced structural deterioration due to age. The repair project will involve rebuilding the second-floor wall, replacing windows, and reinforcing support beams.

“The wall needs to be replaced on the second floor, so it’ll be rebuilding the structure on the second floor, which is in the Hingham room,” said Kevin Whalen, Executive Director of South Shore Country Club.

He noted that the structure, which is 60 to 70 years old, has shown signs of bowing, leading engineers to recommend a complete rebuild.

“It’s something that we have had a structural engineer look at, and we had Apex structural engineers do the redesign,” Whalen added.

Tight Timeline for Repairs

With a wedding scheduled at the venue on March 23, the construction timeline is tight. Officials expect the project to take about four weeks, with an April 30 contract deadline to ensure completion.

“So it is a quick turnaround, and we put an end date for the contract to be April 30,” Whalen said. “So they’ll probably get a payment pretty much when they’re done.”

To maintain quality control, the town has appointed RMD Architects and a consultant to oversee the project.

“So I do have Chris Roddy from RMD, the architect who did the bid documents along with David as well, and he has overseen the roofing work and he’ll oversee this work as well,” Whalen added.

Funding and Approval Process

Initially, the repair was expected to be funded through the town’s capital budget, but officials clarified that country club revenues and retained earnings will cover the cost instead.

“The original memo that was submitted to the Select Board, the funding was noted as capital,” said David Anderson, Town Engineer. “The correction to that memo is the funding is actually going to be South Shore Country Club revenues and retained earnings.”

Town officials noted that the bidding process was competitive, with APC Development Group’s bid of $307,097 coming in significantly lower than the next lowest bid of $364,000.

“Obviously, we got a very competitive bid there from APC,” Whalen said.

Community and Business Impact

The function hall is a popular venue for events, and town officials emphasized the importance of completing the repairs without disrupting operations at the club.

“The restaurant is open,” Whalen clarified. “It’s just the upper function space that is closed down until March 23.”

Select Board members expressed their support for the project, emphasizing the importance of maintaining the facility and ensuring it remains a desirable location for events.

“It sounds like it’s critical and needs to be done as soon as possible,” said Liz Klein, Hingham Select Board Member.

With the funding now approved, construction is expected to begin promptly, ensuring that the function hall is ready for upcoming events while addressing long-term structural concerns.

To watch the full video of the meeting, visit Harbor Media. 

For more Hingham news from South Shore Times, be sure to check out our Hingham homepage.