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Plans formalizing following bond win
3/30/2015 4:14:42 PM

By Treva Lind
Splash Contributor

A series of building projects will roll out soon for Central Valley schools, now that voters approved a $121.9 million construction bond on Feb. 10.

The district scheduled public meetings March 16-31 in impacted neighborhoods for initial project information and questions, Superintendent Ben Small said. The projects include big improvements at six schools, construction of a K-2 Liberty Lake school and renovation of a former Yoke's into a new facility.

The K-2 school and a renovation-expansion project for Greenacres Elementary School are now in the design phase, Small said. A tentative timeline now plans for the new Liberty Lake site to open fall 2017. Small said the district currently expects for that school's construction east of Liberty Lake Elementary to start spring 2016. The GES work likely would begin two to three months after the K-2 site starts and be done in a phased construction, currently set to be completed by fall of 2017 as well.

Small said other projects now in the design queue are for Evergreen Middle School and Chester Elementary, under plans to renovate and expand both sites. However, Small cautioned that the schedule for all the projects may have some adjustments dependent on weather and the construction process.

"We want to make sure we're structuring all projects to get the best construction prices, and we have to make sure we're not competing against ourselves for contractors and subcontractors," Small said. "We're in the beginning stages of designs and timelines, and they will have to be adjusted based on conditions on the ground." 

The "Let's Talk Construction" sessions included introducing some of the project's architects and construction leaders to give current information about design and construction, as well as rough timelines. 

"I want people to understand these are not just facelifts," Small added. "We're doing total redesigning that will support student learning into the future. We'll give our architects time to talk about the design process, contractors will answer questions, and we'll take questions."

Small said the district selected Lydig Construction as the general contractor/construction manager (GC/CM) for GES and Chester. Garco Construction will be in that role for Evergreen. The GC/CM process allows CVSD to hire the architect and general contractor at the same time to pair up early in the process. The district received state approval to use the GC/CM model for the renovation and expansion of five schools - Evergreen, GES, Chester, Opportunity and Sunrise elementary schools. 

Other projects will be handled as design-bid-build projects, including the K-2 school, which means an architect first designs it and then contractors submit bids, Small said. 

The district's first project will be construction in April to renovate the 63,169-square-foot former Yoke's building, 16 N. Progress in Spokane Valley, to house the Central Valley Early Learning Center and Barker High School. The learning center currently is in the old U-High at 10304 E. Ninth. Barker High School, now in the former Blake Elementary, is at 13313 E. Broadway.

The new site at the corner of Progress and Sprague is expected to be completed by December, when each program will move into the refurbished facility. The design includes separate school entries, a shared gymnasium, functional and flexible classrooms, and unique learning spaces for the 220 high school students, 380 preschool students, 75 children in child care and 130 children with special needs. The district purchased the former grocery store and nearly 6-acre lot for $2.4 million in July 2014. 

For all its projects, the district also is preparing for how student housing may be impacted, although some construction won't require temporarily moving students. While specific details on how that will work are still being analyzed, the district plans regular updates on its website and with emails.

At Greenacres Elementary, the district expects that new portions of buildings can be built while students are housed in older sections, but Small said administrators are still determining what that will look like. 

"There are different options," Small said. "We can house on site or we may have some temporary housing offsite. Safety is a top priority, and we'll make sure our students are in a safe learning environment. We'll make sure the contractors have safety meetings daily."

"We expect parent questions," he said. "The questions we can anticipate and have answers for, we'll answer, but we may not have all the answers initially. We'll talk about how the community can engage us further, and receive email updates."

Some moves are likely to go a certain way, Small said. Summit, a K-8 choice school, would move during summer 2016 to start that fall at the old Blake. Once Summit moves, the former Keystone facility that held Summit will be prepared to house students during some of the construction projects. Space at the old U-High also will be made ready for some temporary student housing. 

"We're working to provide functional, practical schools that will serve our community for 40 years or more, provide a better and safer learning environment, and as we go through construction we want to minimize the disruption but deliver what we promised to the community."

Other projects will be at Ponderosa, Sunrise, and Opportunity elementary schools. Additionally, the district plans construction for a new gym roof for Horizon Middle School, and to add four Blake site classrooms for Summit.

• • • 

For more
The Central Valley School District will be providing school construction project updates on its website on an ongoing basis. Visit www.cvsd.org and click on "Construction Update" or navigate to it under the "About Us" tab. 

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