The new middle school planned for Newtown Township.
The look of an upgraded Holland Middle School.
The Council Rock School Board has voted to move forward with construction of a new middle school in Newtown Township and a complete overhaul and expansion to Holland Middle School in Northampton.
The board voted 8-1 on motions to accept $87 million in bids to build a new school at the current Newtown Middle School site off Richboro Road and renovate and add on 70,000-square-feet to Holland Middle School, which will come out looking almost like an entirely new building.
Board Vice President Mark Byelich voted against accepting the bids due to objections he had with not first agreeing to a firm redistricting plan. Although he didn’t vote to approve the bids, he stated that he thought the middle school buildings will be well constructed.
See the bids accepted by the school board:
See the costs of each building:
Council Rock Director of Operations Doug Taylor said the projects came in a combined $5 million less than expected, even with $4 million in combined contingencies.
A rendering of the proposed Newtown middle school.
Work on the Newtown school will begin by as soon and June. Crews could start preliminary work on Holland Middle School even sooner than June, Taylor said.
Crews will begin building the Newtown school behind the current Newtown Middle School site and take that building down by summer 2019. The new school will be completed by August 2018.
Last month, Robin Breslin, president of Breslin, Ridyard, Fadero Architechts, laid out the new Newtown school building. He narrated a video of the proposed two-story building that would feature a secure lobby, a two-story classroom section, collaboration spaces, an enclosed courtyard with seating, classrooms with large windows and versatile science labs.
A rendering of the upgraded Holland Middle School.
The 140,000-sqaure-foot Holland Middle School will see a 70,000-square-foot music area, auxiliary gym, auditorium and entrance area added on. The current building will be renovated section by section with partisans blocking students from the work. The work will be completed by August 2018.
In early March, David Schrader of Schrader Group Architecture briefed officials on the proposed work for Holland Middle School. The visual walk-thru he showed presented the proposed additions and renovations throughout the school. Two new elevators would be installed in the building. Also, the entrance to the school would be moved from the side to the front of the building.
The 950-student schools are planned to meet the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design’s Gold standard, Taylor said, adding the buildings’ green features will be able to be worked in to lesson plans for students. According to project information, each building has a $2 million grant to help reach the Gold standard.
The new buildings are forecasted to last the district for at least the next 40 to 50 years.
“It’s really humbling to think about all the work that has go into the project and its lasting impression,” board member Dr. Bill Foster said.
