Pennsbury picks architect for $250M new high school project
With their presentation even having a Pennsbury Falcon perched in a courtyard, the architectural firm of KCBA showed they did their "homework."
Thursday night, by a vote of 6 to 2 with one abstention, the Pennsbury School Board awarded the Hatfield firm the contract to design a new Pennsbury High School on the Falls Township campus.
The proposed KCBA cost for the design work is $1.6 million less than the other leading design firm, Crabtree, Rohrbaough & Associates had planned for the project.
The school ultimately could cost $250 million or more, but the school board members want to cap the costs at or below that amount. It is estimated that the pricetag for the new high school, for approximately 2,800 to 3,000 students, will add an average $250 to the tax bills of residents for the next 10 years.
School Superintendent Thomas Smith said he couldn't say what the final architectural fee will be until the contract is signed but school board members said cost was a factor in their choice of KCBA, which has worked on more than 400 K-12 construction projects in the state including the current renovations to Pennsbury's Charles Boehm Middle School and design work for Bucks County Community College.
"We're very excited for the opportunity to continue our working relationship with the Pennsbury School District," said Mike Kelly, a principal with KCBA early Friday morning.
Smith said it was "pretty cool" that 4,500 people watched the video the district made of the architectural presentations by the four firms who were finalists and that the district received more than 150 written comments.
More: Build a new Pennsbury High School. Here's why a committee says it's better than renovating
Voting for the Crabtree firm were Josh Waldorf and Lois Lambing. Waldorf said the firm was "head and shoulders" above the other presentations with their data-based approach and the transportation pattern around the building in their design. He noted they put safety first and designed a "tight" building to save on costs.
"You get what you pay for," he said about the higher architectural fee Crabtree proposed.
Lambing agreed with Waldorf's comments, adding that the Crabtree representatives had a depth of explanations and were "more crystal clear on safety."
Dr. Joanna Steere, school board president, said that Crabtree, Rohrbaugh and Associates did most of their work in the central part of the state where the pay for construction work is less expensive and she was concerned that their cost estimates would be higher than anticipated because wages are higher in Southeastern Pennsylvania. She voted for KCBA.
Board member Donna Abrescia, who is new to the board, abstained because she had not been involved in the initial discussions with the architectural firms who became the finalists.
The KCBA firm includes Thaddeus Heinz who is a Pennsbury graduate. The firm's involvement with the current renovations at Boehm Middle School and its understanding of the district appeared to be another factor in it being chosen for the high school project.
In a presentation, the district showed the plan for design committees set up by the district to meet with the architectural firm between now and June 2025 as the design is finalized.
Construction of the new school would begin in the summer of '25 and the new school would be ready for occupancy in the winter of '29. The two schools that comprise the current Pennsbury High School would be demolished after the new school is completed.
This article originally appeared on Bucks County Courier Times: Pennsbury picks KCBA Architects for high school project
