A section of the State College Area High School North Building that was not part of an extensive three-year rebuild project will soon be undergoing renovations.
The school board on Monday unanimously approved $2.6 million in construction bids to overhaul the former Career and Technical Center (CTC) space in the building on State High’s north campus. Once completed, the space will provide a new home for the virtual learning and Reclaiming Individual Talent programs, and for the district’s information technology department.
The bids included:
● General construction – Veronesi Building & Remodeling, Inc. – $1,384,400
● Plumbing – Silvertip, Inc. – $189,600
● Mechanical – Silvertip, Inc. – $642,400
● Electrical – G.M. McCrossin, Inc. – $402,940
Fixtures, furniture and equipment are not included in the total, but the project is expected to still come in under budget when they are added, district administrators told the board. The project is funded by previous bond financing that set aside about $3 million for the renovation, which has been accounted for in the district’s capital projects fund.
“It’s not taking from the current general fund; it’s not taking from the capital reserve fund,” Randy Brown, SCASD finance and operations officer, said. “It’s monies that have already been borrowed and have a purpose.”
Mike Fisher, director of the physical plant, said construction is expected to take about nine months.
The CTC moved to the new State High South Building in 2018. While much of the North Building was renovated for athletics and the Delta program as part of the State High rebuild project, the old CTC space was not included.
Renovations will allow the Virtual Academy and RIT to move out of their current space in the Fairmount Building, 411 S. Fraser St. The district plans to vacate the Fairmount Building within the next year because continued maintenance of the century-old facility is expected become cost-prohibitive, administrators told the board last year.
Relocating to the North Building will bring the programs in close proximity to the high school and Delta.
The district’s IT department, which is currently based in the Panorama Village Administrative Center, also will move to the renovated space to provide a more centralized location on a campus with the most students and technology, including the district’s data center, as well as offering better storage and access for equipment deliveries.
The IT department’s move to the high school campus would then allow for more efficient alignment of offices at Panorama Village with minimal renovations.
