Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Innovation center’s completion delayed
Site to be ready for spring semester
FORT SMITH — Construction of the School District’s Peak Innovation Center will not be finished in time for the start of the fall semester on Aug. 16.
The School Board learned at its meeting Monday the center, which was previously due to open in August in collaboration with the University of Arkansas-Fort Smith, is being planned to be completed by the start of the spring 2022 semester on Jan. 4.
The center will provide career and technology education for high school students across 22 regional school districts, as well as district-specific visual arts programming, a prior news release from the School District states.
Gary Udouj, the School District’s director of career education and district innovation, said the first phase of the center will focus on programs in advanced manufacturing, information technology and health sciences.
Zena Featherston Marshall, executive director of communication and community partnerships for the district, said Tuesday although
the completion of the building has been delayed, the programming for students will begin as scheduled, albeit at UAFS.
Scott Ditto of the Alabama-based Hoar Program Management, program manager for the center project, said Monday the project was originally scheduled to last for 470 days, starting on Jan. 15, 2020, and finishing April 29, 2021. The plan would include time dedicated to planning and design, permitting and procurement and construction.
However, program changes brought on by input from stakeholders delayed the process, along with an ongoing project by the Arkansas Department of Transportation to widening a section of the adjacent Arkansas 255.
Bill Hollenbeck, director of security and facilities for the district, said increased costs of construction material, as well as slowed delivery of the material on a national level because of the covid-19 pandemic, were among the other factors contributing to the delays in the project.
“A lot of times on projects, sometimes they get behind, but we’re working with the contractor and with the leadership here with the district and [Hoar Program Management], so we’re very excited,” Hollenbeck said. “I think at the end, the finished product is going to be amazing and the community will really, really appreciate it.”
The contractor for the project is Turn Key Construction Management in Fort Smith, according to Hollenbeck.
Ditto said Hoar Program Management is also in negotiation to finalize the final price on the project.
“What I can say is that I know at our last meeting we showed that we were going to try to do a partial occupancy on the building on Aug. 16,” Ditto said. “At this point, it’s been decided that we’re not going to probably do that. We’re going to go ahead and move forward and try to get the entire project done before we occupy the building.”
The center project is a part of the School District’s Vision 2023 capital improvement program, being paid for by a millage increase Fort Smith and Barling residents approved in May 2018.
The 5.558- mill increase, which moved the district property tax rate from 36.5 mils to 42.058 mils, will generate about $120 million. It was the first of its kind in Fort Smith since 1987.
Deputy Superintendent Martin Mahan said the project is expected to go over budget, although he didn’t specify by how much. However, the School District is “trending neutral” in millage projects overall.
Ditto said the project has more than $22.1 million from various sources, including more than $ 13.7 million in millage from the School District. However, only about $17.5 million is allocated to construction.
The remainder is made up of grants and investments the School District received for the center from the U.S. Economic Development Administration, the Office of Skills Development of the Arkansas Department of Commerce, the companies ABB and ArcBest, the California- based Gene Haas Foundation, the hospitals Baptist Health and Mercy Fort Smith and the Windgate Foundation.
The School Board also approved selling 3.36 acres of the Peak property to the Department of Transportation for the Arkansas 255 project during its meeting June 14. The proceeds from the sale — $180,525 — is among the money allocated to construction, according to Ditto.