Quaker Valley School District seeks construction manager, permits for proposed $105 million high school

Quaker Valley School District officials are looking for a construction manager to help coordinate the proposed high school project.

Hiring the position is the next step in an ongoing process to make the dream of creating a new home for freshmen through senior Quakers a reality by the 2027-28 school year.

The 167,000-square-foot facility is planned on district property that straddles Leet Township, Edgeworth and Leetsdale, but the school will be in the township.

Charlie Gauthier, district director of facilities and administrative services, said requests for proposals went out in mid-January and he expects responses by March 11.

The screening process will involve company background checks and contract development by district solicitor GRB Law, as well as interviews with school board members and district administration.

The goal is to have a contract done by May at the latest, filled by someone with experience in bulk site development and working with school districts.

“We would like to have somebody that’s local,” Gauthier said following a project update on Jan. 22.

The update is posted under “presentations” on the school board section of the district’s website, qvsd.org.

A construction manager’s tasks include carefully evaluating construction documents and project plans as well as assessing project constructability. They will offer suggestions to architects and engineers, which may include cost-saving measures or strategies to reduce construction time.

Members of the district’s engineering and design team will also be part of the screening process.

“We’ll review their (proposals) to make sure that they’re covering everything,” said Geoffrey Phillips, principal and founder of Phillips & Associates. “A construction manager is working for the district, on behalf of the district, to oversee the project and is a liaison with the contractors to make sure that what the district plans and (specifications) show is what they get. They’re like a watchdog.”

Part of the proposal request development included preliminary meetings with three construction managers before Quaker Valley’s winter break.

“We just gave a brief description of the project, kind of what was going on with it,” Gauthier said. “Went over both the land development side of it (and) the building side. Asked about their experience with the type of development that we have, and then brought them up to the property and let them get a look around and understand the layout of how the roads will be done and where the building will be.”

Board member Gianni Floro said having a quality construction manager is key to project success, particularly when it comes to evaluating bids from other companies. Examples are bids for electrical work, plumbing and other facets of development.

“Historically, this district has rejected bids that have either been from nonresponsible bidders, or there have just been problems relative to the bidders understanding the bidding material,” Floro said. “It’s a very important role to be filled. It’s a very important selection for our team to make. … There’s still a great deal of work and due diligence that will continue to happen over the next several months.”

Permits sought

The Jan. 22 project update also highlighted the various permits being sought for the project.

They included approvals from the state Department of Environmental Protection and Army Corps of Engineers, Highway Occupancy permit and Allegheny County right of way approval that must be done through Allegheny County Council.

The highway occupancy permits involve the two entrances to the school from Camp Meeting Road, as well as the realignment of Camp Meeting Road and Beaver Street.

Phillips said all of the paperwork has been submitted.

The review process and subsequent authorizations are expected to take between eight to 10 months.

Efforts are also underway for Leet Municipal Sewer Authority, Edgeworth Water Authority and Leet developers agreements. The hope is to have all these agreements in place before the end of the year.

The Leet commissioners approved the district’s land development plan with multiple conditions in October. Those conditions were formally accepted by the school board in November.

More behind-the-scenes

Superintendent Tammy Andreyko said more work continues to be done behind the scenes, including working with architects on the interior of the school and furniture vendors.

“We do know that supply chain is always an issue,” she said. “We’re taking a look at those things. We’re also taking a look at how it impacts the learning environment that we have within our school. What are we trying to do? What are the best colors and schemes? How does that translate into some of those pieces of moving furniture?”

Andreyko commended the engineering and design team for their cooperation and getting ready for the next steps.

“There are different times that it’s fast and there’s different times that it’s slow,” she said about project developments. “I do think that we’re using this time in between to do some of that work so that when we’re ready to say, ‘Go,’ we have some things lined up.”

School district officials set the maximum building construction costs for the proposed high school at about $72.1 million and the maximum project cost at $105 million.

More information about the project is available on the district’s website under the Blueprint QV section of the “District” tab.