Progress is Being Made on Both the High School and Elementary Schools Projects

With summer in full swing, construction and plans continue for the High School, as well as some of the elementary schools in the State College Area School District.

Elementary schools project continues to move forward. On Monday, June 26, the SCASD board approved 60 percent design plans for the Corl Street, Houserville and Radio Park Elementary schools. All three of the schools are being updated to make them comparable to the rest of the SCASD elementary schools. Plans include new construction at Houserville and additions and renovations at Corl Street and Radio Park.

The board received the lowest-cost estimate for the projects from Crabtree, Rohrbaugh, and Associates, an architectural firm based in Mechanicsburg, Pa. Corl Street is estimated to cost $17.4 million, Houserville is estimated to cost $20.6 million and Radio Park is estimated to cost $22.5 million.

Once completed, the school district expects to receive an average of $1.2 million per building as part of PA’s PlanCon school construction reimbursement program. All three schools are also being designed for certification with the U.S. Green Building Council, which could mean additional reimbursements to SCASD. Work is expected to begin January 2018 and finish during the summer of 2019.

State High Project Kicks into Gear this Summer.  With the State High construction on schedule, summertime means big progress. Over the summer, foundation and masonry work continues on the four south-side classroom units, as well as Unit B ground floor wall development. It is anticipated that by mid-July, workers will be able to install structural steel for flooring, as well as finish utilities conduits and plumbing pipes under the concrete slabs.

With school out of session, the South Building campus will be closed for the summer, allowing for asbestos abatement crews to prepare for the lower South Building classroom wing demolition, expected to begin in July. An alternative hallway to the upper section of the building will be created before school begins this fall.

If the project remains on schedule throughout the summer months, additional projects include building a storm water retention pond where the driver’s education course was previously located. On the North Campus, a data center will be created in the athletic rooms, ready for students upon their return.

The timeline for the project is broken into three phases. Phase 1 (January 2016-January 2018) includes the new construction in the South parking lot and work on classrooms in existing buildings. Phase 2 (January 2018-June 2018) includes renovations and additions to older parts of the South building, creating classrooms in portions of both North and South buildings. Phase 3 (June 2018-July 2019) includes demolition and new construction of the North building, as well as classrooms being phased into completion. The entire project is expected to be finished the summer of 2019.

To view project updates and a live project webcam, visit www.scasd.org/statehighfuture.