The Hempfield Area (Pennsylvania) School District is soliciting new bids for its high school renovation, a undertaking now carrying an estimated $150 million price tag.
TribLIVE reports that the project has been stalled for about 30 months after initial bids exceeded the district’s projections.
Pending a successful bidding process, the district expects to break ground in June. Construction is projected to be completed in June 2029.
The renovations were put on hold in August 2023 as cost estimates continued to rise. In 2022, costs were project at between $97 million to $110 million. In June 2023, a revised estimate put the cost at $132 million. When estimates climbed to $148 million to $150 million, the district put the renovation on hold.
Included in the first phase of the project is a two-story addition on the front of the school, connecting the auditorium to the pool. The district plans to use this space as an innovation center, which could include offices for school administrators, a media center, a school store, an innovation lab, collaborative spaces for students and flexible-use classrooms.
Between a third and a fourth of the high school’s classrooms have been closed off sinc 2023-24, when the district’s ninth grade students were shifted to the former Harrold Middle School building. These classrooms will be renovated in the first phase.
Additional classrooms, and renovations to the cafeteria and library will be part of the second phase.
Contractors in the final phase will expand the field house lobby, renovate the inside of the field house and the back section of the high school and rework the parking lot.
