Planned costs rise for proposed new Henry Clay High School building in Lexington
The new Henry Clay High School building is expected to be completed by winter 2028 and cost at least $151.6 million, according to Fayette school board agenda documents from Monday’s planning meeting.
The meeting was canceled because a quorum of school board members could not attend. It has been rescheduled for Thursday night.
The 322,569-square foot building is planned to serve 2,300 students. Construction is expected to occur in phases and start in 2025 on the same property as the current building on Fontaine Road.
An auxiliary gym and a full health clinic are in the plans. The existing high school will be demolished after the new construction is completed, the documents said.
New baseball and softball fields will be constructed because the current fields are being displaced by the new building, according to the documents.
The estimated cost for the project discussed in June 2023 was $146 million. It has not been unusual for cost estimates to fluctuate on Fayette County Public Schools building projects.
“Our goal is for the cost per square foot for the new Henry Clay High School to be more in line with the cost per square foot for the new Mary E. Britton Middle School,” district spokesperson Dia Davidson-Smith said this week.
The school moved to its current Fontaine Road facility in 1970 and underwent a renovation in 2006.
The current building has been the subject of environmental complaints in recent years.
