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BHS Renovation/Expansion Project Frequently
Asked Questions When did the community approve the sale of bonds to renovate and expand Belleville High School (BHS)? During the general election on Tuesday, November 4, 2008, the community approved an increase in property taxes of 2.98 mills, or $2.98 per $1,000.00 of taxable value, over 30 years not to exceed $79,040,000. At the May 18, 2009 regular meeting of the Board of Education, the Board approved the sale of $79 million worth of “Build America Bonds” in a single series to renovate and expand BHS. How long will the construction take? The current timeline has groundbreaking taking place during spring of 2010 with a completion date of fall of 2013. The class of 2013 will be the first class to graduate from the newly renovated and expanded BHS. Will the students have to be relocated during the construction period since the construction is on the current site? No, the students will not have to leave the BHS campus during construction. In January of this year, the building committee met and set priorities for the project. Finding ways to not disturb the educational process and to guarantee the safety of the staff and students were at the top of the list. The architect for the project, Fanning Howey Associates, has devised an ingenious plan to build the new sections of BHS entirely on the west side of the current BHS site, effectively separating the students and staff from the construction. Minimal demolition will occur at the start of construction, removing the 12 classrooms that make up the “West Wing” or “E Hall”. Students will continue classes as usual in the current building while the entire new structure is completed on the west side of the property. Once the new structure is completed, the students will move into the new facility and demolition of the old building will occur during summer of 2013. This is a renovation and expansion project. What parts of the current building will be renovated and what will be expanded? The only spaces that can be realistically renovated and reused are the auditorium (1968), the cafeteria (1991), and the music rooms (2001). All other resources and student/staff spaces will be completely rebuilt to include up to date technology, educational flexible learning spaces, and athletic facilities that meet or exceed the Michigan High School Athletic Association (MHSAA) requirements. Belleville High School was built in 1926. Since that time the building has had numerous additions such as the second floor being rebuilt after a devastating fire (1954), music rooms, athletic facilities, and a 5-lane swimming pool were added (1956), vocational machine shop facilities were expanded (1966), an auditorium (1968), science rooms and administrative offices (1977), cafeteria (1991), and music rooms (2001) were added. Core spaces such as hallways, the gymnasium, and the classrooms are small and cramped compared to today’s educational and athletic standards, especially for the sciences. Who are the members of the building committee? The planning of the new Belleville High School has been entrusted to the building committee who are committed to creating the best school possible for the funding approved by the tax payers. The members of the committee are: David Peer – VBPS Board President Tom Riutta – Superintendent Nick Armelagos – Director of Business Brian Brice – Supervisor of Operations and Services Tim Ottewell – Assistant Principal, Belleville High School Paul Henning – Communications Specialist Gary Collins – Collins & Blaha, P.C. Jack Gerling – Collins & Blaha, P.C. Greg VanKirk – Plante Moran CRESA Paul Wills – Plante Moran CRESA Who has the Board of Education hired to plan, design, and build the project? In November 2008, the Board of Education contracted with Plante Moran CRESA to be the project manager for the renovation/expansion program. Plante Moran CRESA is a commercial real estate consulting firm providing tenant representation, project management, and real estate consulting services. Their expertise in managing successful school projects across the state and extensive knowledge of the construction industry as a whole made them uniquely suited to guide Van Buren Public Schools through the building process. Plante Moran CRESA is committed to keeping this important construction project on time, within budget, and of the highest quality. Based in Southfield, Michigan, Plante Moran CRESA is an affiliated entity to Plante & Moran, one of the nation’s largest certified public accounting and consulting firms. For more information, visit www.pmcresa.com. Once Plante Moran CRESA was on board, the first order of business was the complex task of choosing the right architect for the project. The building committee decided on a Qualification Based Selection (QBS) Ranking System by which the architects who were submitting proposals would be rated. The criteria in the QBS included: Relevant high school expansion projects, fees, quality assurance program, experience, and engineering team experience. Top on our list of concerns was how the architect planned to stage the project so the education process was not impacted by the construction and our students and staff remained safe during the building process. Ten architects submitted conceptual plans which were then rated by the QBS system. Of the ten, only three met the high standards we had set. The three architects (Fanning Howey, French Associates, and SHW Group) were interviewed by the entire committee in a four hour session. Of the three, Fanning Howey proved to be the most creative in solving the student impact problem, had the experience we were looking for, and offered the best value for our dollars. To learn more about Fanning Howey, please visit www.fhai.com. The conceptual plan they presented was to build the new BHS between the cafeteria, auditorium, and the administration building. The only demolition at the beginning of the project will be the 12 classrooms that make up the “West Wing” or “E Hall”. The rest of the old BHS would not be touched until the end of the construction period when it would be demolished all at one time. The area between the new BHS and St. Anthony’s would then become the new parking and bus drop-off area. This plan makes sure that the learning process is unhampered and leaves us with the possibility that the project might be completed ahead of schedule. The building committee once again utilized the QBS system to rank the 12 construction companies who bid on the project on the same criteria listed above to narrow the field to five candidates. As with Fanning Howey, Granger Construction Company proved to be the most resourceful for the scope of the project, had the experience we were looking for, and offered the best value for our dollars. To learn more about Granger Construction Company, please visit www.grangerconstruction.com. Are green technologies being considered for the renovation/expansion project? Yes, green technologies are being explored for the project. Geothermal, solar power, green roofing, and other green technologies have been brought into the conversation with Fanning Howey and will be used when it makes practical and monetary sense to do so. Will the project bring jobs to our local residents who are in the construction trades? The building committee and the Board of Education firmly believe in making jobs available to our community on this project. In general, the criteria are that the individuals are capable of providing quality services and doing a professional job. Prevailing wage will be paid to whoever is hired. Additionally, the project should bring foot traffic to businesses in the area as workers from this project patronize the greater Van Buren Public Schools District community. What security features will BHS have once construction is finished? The security system will be a state of the art key card system that will be entirely controlled from the administrative offices at the front of the building. During morning student drop-off, several doors will be open to allow student entrance from the bus drop-off, student drop-off, and student and staff parking areas before school. Once the first bell sounds, all entrances will be electronically locked leaving the front office the only entrance accessible during the school day. Any visitors or late students must enter through the double entry system at the administrative offices entrance. The first door of the administrative office will be open where the visitor, parent, or student will have to identify themselves and be verified by BHS staff before being buzzed through the second entrance into the school. The building is also designed to allow for each section of the school to be open independently while the rest of the building is locked and inaccessible. For example, if there is a sporting event in the gym, the entrances in the sports complex will be open and the rest of the building will be locked and secured. The same will be true for events held at the auditorium, mini-auditorium, cafeteria, and media center. Is there room for expansion if needed? There is planned expansion space at the end of the three-story academic wings if needed in the future. A three story academic section added at this location would create a courtyard within the three-story academic complex. What about the athletic fields and facilities? All athletic fields will be completely refurbished to meet or exceed MHSAA requirements. This includes football, baseball, softball, soccer, and track and field facilities. The football facilities will be replaced with updated/expanded seating, concession stands, and bathrooms. A new two-story athletic complex will house the gym, the auxiliary gym, indoor running track, wrestling room, weight room, locker rooms, and 8-lane competitive pool with two 1-meter diving boards and 13-foot diving wells fully complying with Michigan High School Athletic Association (MHSAA) requirements. How will construction impact parking at BHS? Parking for staff and students and for special events will be an issue and every effort is being made to make parking as convenient as possible during construction. There are several plans being explored at this time and details will be released as they become available. Will there be new furniture along with the renovation/expansion? How about technology? The academic wings of the building are being designed with maximum educational flexible spaces in mind. The furniture and equipment now available to schools is much more functional than traditional desks. The appropriate furniture will be selected for the maximum flexibility in the classroom to accommodate many different teaching styles and techniques. There is also money set aside in the budget for updated technology and computers for the entire school. Do you have any additional questions or comments? Please contact us at bhsinput@vanburenschools.net.
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Van Buren Public Schools | Updated
01/06/2010. |
