Demolition to begin this week for Cimarron Plaza

Apr. 15—Demolition on the Cimarron Plaza to make way for the new Stillwater High School is slated to begin this week, according to 505 Architects, the team behind the new high school's design.

At the Stillwater Public Schools Board of Education meeting April 9, Brian Thomas, coordinator at 505 Architects said his team submitted 90% of the construction documents to CMSWillowbrook, the construction company hired to build the new high school.

"The City of Stillwater issued a permit for demolition," Thomas said.

CMSWillowbrook will begin mobilizing this week, and SPS can expect to see beginning demolition phases, Thomas said. CMSWillowbrook is working on the final review, construction issues and pricing.

Map amendment and rezoning of the property was approved by the City of Stillwater on April 1.

The final milestone is at the end of April with the final documentation to CMSWillowbrook for the bidding phase, Thomas said. 505 Architects will also submit documentation to the City of Stillwater for a building permit.

At the board meeting, Thomas shared that it was five years ago that his team began meeting with district administrators to begin the process of starting the new high school project, and he said there's one thing that represents all of the hours put into the project and the input from administrators, staff and students.

"It's in a set of drawings that sits about 6-and-a-half-inches thick on my desk right now that has captured that vision," Thomas said.

He said his team is planning to have the financing and final documentation in place by June so the Board may approve the contract for CMSWillowbrook to begin construction.

The new SHS project also has some "wiggle room" in case of weather issues, Thomas said.

Plans for a tornado shelter with the International Code Council, or ICC 500 standards, have changed for the 2023 bond cycle, Thomas said. A third-party reviewer gave Thomas and the 505 Architects team five items to review and correct.

The new requirements have updated stipulations that include bathrooms, air flow and a two-hour power sustainability.

The shelter will give students and staff the convenience of a modern living space when tornadoes are sighted in the area. The storm shelter will be located close to the special education wing so SPED students will not have to leave the building, giving them an advantage in the case of a storm.

Thomas said their team is talking about adjustments to the Kameoka Trail with the City and the Federal Emergency Management Agency regarding the flood zone, possibly setting the trail into a separate lot so that future regulatory issues or undue paperwork doesn't arise over property lines.

The traffic study has been completed to allow for traffic flow and long-term student capacity projections.

Other upcoming projects

At the previous month's Board meeting, the Board approved deferred maintenance projects for Richmond Elementary School and Stillwater Junior High School, which include mechanical units and roofing.

Thomas said the latest schedule is May 20 for the Richmond Elementary roof replacement, although they are still waiting on an HVAC unit delivery to be confirmed.

The roof replacement on SJHS is scheduled to begin in June, with a completion date of mid-August.

Thomas said the team is continually looking at safety issues with deferred maintenance projects, including roof hatches on the upcoming roof replacements.

Upcoming bid packages from 505 Architects include additional roof improvements for the current Stillwater High School campus and the Performing Arts Center, with roof improvements for the stadium weight room, the field house and the wrestling room.

At the Hamilton Field House in Couch Park, 505 Architects plans to renovate existing locker rooms.

Thomas said the team received a building permit in March for the relocation of the SPS IT department from the Cimarron Plaza.

The Board previously approved Lippert Bros., Inc. as construction manager for the project, and bids will be received on April 30. The ultimate goal is to have the IT department in the new space by October.