Knoch School Board discusses renovation plan changes
SAXONBURG — Representatives from local architecture firm DRAW Collective met with the Knoch School Board to discuss proposed changes to the plans for the renovation of Knoch High School that could lower the price by millions of dollars.
“This meeting was utilized to allow the board … to see what the buildings and grounds group did to get a very clear look on what is going to be bid when the rebid process happens,” said Knoch School District superintendent David Foley after a special meeting Wednesday, Aug. 30.
A setback at another special meeting necessitated Wednesday’s meeting with DRAW Collective.
On Aug. 16, the school board rejected all bids for the general construction portion of the renovation project. All three bids came in far higher than the board expected.
This forced both the school district and DRAW Collective to scale back their original plans for the renovation to cut costs. Two representatives from DRAW Collective were on hand to show off revised plans for the renovation project.
In June, the school board set its 2023-24 budget at $38.5 million. Deducting what the district has already spent on the stadium, as well as “soft costs” that are not directly related to the process of construction, this leaves over $30.4 million for the construction. All of the bids from earlier this month were well above that.
The first item to be cut was the rear “site work” — work around the exterior of the building. In the new revisions, the planned new student parking and drop-off has been axed, and the tennis courts and maintenance building will remain in place. This would create a cost savings between $3.7 and $4.1 million.
“A lot of the traffic patterns are going to look the same,” said Foley. “A lot of the parking is going to look the same as it currently does.”
Other proposed cuts included a new second-floor restroom and a new student entrance, which would save between $360,000 and $400,000.
Some items were listed as potential “alternates,” items which could be added back into the project if bids were low enough to afford their inclusion. These included a wellness center and theater classroom, valued at a combined $1.2 million.
All told, DRAW Collective estimated that their proposed cuts would save at least $4.36 million, with the alternates adding an additional $1.17 to $1.3 million if they are left off the drawing board.
At the special meeting two weeks ago, landscaping bids were rejected in addition to the general construction bids. With site work reduced to almost nothing in the revised plans, Foley says it’s unlikely that landscaping will be put up for bid again.
However, the HVAC, plumbing, electrical and food service bids were accepted at the previous special meeting earlier this month, and will be held for at least two months.
“The only one that we're waiting on is the big general contractor bid,” Foley said. “Landscaping we pulled out because there's very little site work going on outside. It may come in as an alternate.”
It is now estimated that Knoch will solicit new bids for the construction from Sept. 26 through Oct. 25, with the school board reviewing all bids on Nov. 1 and awarding the contract on Nov. 8. However, this timeline is not final.
Foley estimates that the renovation project will still be finished by fall 2025.
