District takes steps in reviving high school renovation project
Hempfield Area School directors took some of their first steps in reviving a high school renovation project delayed over the summer after construction costs came in over budget.
During a school board meeting Monday directors unanimously approved the resignation of Bellevuebased CORE Architects, originally hired at the start of the project, and directed administrators to advertise for requests for proposals for architectural services.
Because of those changes, district officials did not have a timeline for when the project, which would tear the 66-year-old building down to its structural system and rebuild everything as new, could resume.
“The timeline moving forward will be a collaborative effort with the construction manager, owner’s representative, the district and the new architects,” interim Superintendent Kimberlie Rieffannacht said. “So when we talk about those things it’s hard to get into specifics right now with the timeline until all those parties are at the table.”
The action came months after school directors in August rejected bids for the project that came in at a total of $149 million for the first phase of construction. That was millions of dollars over the district’s budget and included a 28% increase in general construction costs while almost doubling the price of a new swimming pool.
At the time, school directors decided to go back to the drawing board to determine how to move forward with the project at a more reasonable price. A month later they hired McKinley Architecture and Engineering as an owner’s representative to help the district determine the project’s next steps.
But during that August meeting district officials were frustrated after they were forced to delay the project that has been in the works since school directors voted in 2022 to rebuild everything as new rather than construct a new high school or renovate the existing structure. At the time it was expected to cost between $97 million and $110 million.
But that price has been slowly increasing over the past year and a half.
During Monday’s meeting, directors met publicly with SitelogiQ officials for one of the first times since the August vote.
“Ultimately what we’re trying to speak to is instilling confidence in both the community and the board of how do we trust the numbers moving forward, how do we recognize the estimates that are being prepared are responsibly preparing the district and the school board and ultimately the community to make investment decisions and make wise decisions along the way,” Garrett Lewis, SitelogiQ’s vice president, said.
While firm plans were not presented to the board, officials suggested potential funding sources that could be used such as grants from the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development, federal dollars and the newly implemented School Environmental Repairs Program, which the state recently opened applications for.
Officials also presented changes made to the SitelogiQ staff in the past several months, including to the pre-construction team.
“We have really looked in the mirror, we’ve evaluated ourselves and we feel that we’ve made some pretty significant moves that result in significant differences to the district,” Rick Evans, SitelogiQ’s president, said.
The changes were largely applauded by the school board.
“I’ve been pretty critical of your company,” school director Vince DeAugustine said, “but I do want to just say that I look forward to a good relationship moving forward.”
The action came months after school directors in August rejected bids for the project that came in at a total of $149 million for the first phase of construction. That was millions of dollars over the district’s budget.