Neshaminy to move ahead with $51.8M school, $13M sports complex. Here's the new timeline
Construction is expected to get underway at two major projects in the Neshaminy School District this coming winter: the new elementary school planned for the Maple Point Middle School campus and the stadium project at the high school.
The school board held a required second hearing Thursday on the construction costs for the new elementary school it plans to build since the bids came in 22% higher than district officials originally estimated.
The projected total now stands at $51,861,741, including $750,000 for movable fixtures like desks and other equipment. Bids will be put out this fall and the district hopes to begin construction in the late winter on the campus at 2250 Langhorne-Yardley Road.
The district floated a $39.5 million bond issue for 25 years to help pay for the new school. It already has raised taxes by 2.31 mills, or an extra $65 per year for the average household to help cover the costs, said Donald Irwin, district business administrator.
Under Pennsylvania Act 34 of 1973, the district had to hold a second hearing because the bids came in more than 8% higher than the original cost estimates. Residents have until the end of the day Sept. 19 to send written comments to the district. The district then can put the construction project out to bid.
School Board President John Allen and Superintendent Rob McGee said a name for the new school won't be chosen until after construction has begun. The school will replace the aging Pearl Buck Elementary School on Top Road in Middletown that was built in 1968 and would have cost $24 million to $26 million to renovate even before inflation raised construction costs and limited the availability of workers and supplies, officials said.
More:Neshaminy taxpayers voice concerns, support for new school plan at Maple Point
Neshaminy footprint expanding
McGee said that the district's footprint is no longer shrinking. The population expanded in the past few years and in the Lower Southampton area, the district built the new Tawanka Elementary School in 2016. Once the school at Maple Point is completed, the district will look at its facilities in the Levittown region of the district to renovate or build a new school there, McGee said.
The district hopes to have the new school at Maple Point completed by the summer of 2024 and ready for opening that fall, said Architect Scott Downie of Spiezle, the firm which designed the two-story, 115,000 square foot school which will house approximately 800 to 900 children in kindergarten through fourth grade in five learning pods.
The district also is moving forward with plans for its new $13 million sports complex at Neshaminy High School.
No heartbreak at Heartbreak Ridge
McGee said work on the new stadium will begin after the football season ends.
"We're renovating the whole sports complex...Basically, we're not going to interrupt a single football game. ... We're going to have the stadium through Nov. 1," McGee said. "Then construction should take place over the winter months so the new field could host the graduation in June next year. That's our plan, that's our time schedule. It's tight but we're excited about being able to do that."
More:Neshaminy plans major $13 million upgrade to high school athletic fields. Here's what's coming.
This article originally appeared on Bucks County Courier Times: Neshaminy to build new Maple Point elementary school, sports complex
