Cuyahoga Falls school district adds $18 million to cost of new campus
A new school complex for sixth through 12th graders in Cuyahoga Falls is running $18 million over initial projections ahead of the start of construction next month. But the city's school district says it had prepared for even higher costs, and its strategy is designed with economic challenges in mind.
A $112.8 million budget was approved April 12 for the 360,000-square-foot school along with a theater. Other components of the project include a new $6.2 million stadium, which remains on target with initial cost projections, and the eventual demolition of Bolich Middle School. The former Newberry Elementary already has been razed to help make way for the new 48-acre campus.
Why did school construction costs increase?
ThenDesign Architecture (TDA) in Willoughby, the project manager, said the initial designs had to be modified due to the pandemic, supply-chain issues and inflation.
Current market conditions "haven’t existed like this in recent history and challenge school construction projects everywhere," the firm said in January 2022.
Designs drawn up in August 2021 would have put the school construction 20% to 25% over budget, TDA said. So it went back to the drawing board — including using the natural slope of the land in the stadium, reducing the building footprint by grouping some academic spaces into a three-story structure rather than a two-story structure and developing a more efficient building exterior.
Bill Schurman, owner of Hammond Construction, the Canton firm that will build the new school, said putting together the final budget and timeline was tricky.
"No question, a challenge we identified early were the incredible inflationary pressures," Schurman said. He added that Hammond would immediately enter into the contracts needed for the work.
How is Cuyahoga Falls school district girding for cost overruns?
Christine Stewart, the school district's coordinator of community relations, said officials had braced themselves for cost overruns as high as 40%, noting that "rising costs on everything from fuel to materials to labor are hitting budgets hard."
"Due to our cost-saving strategies, we cut that percentage in half," Stewart said. "We have worked diligently to save money and to make concessions where we could without compromising the integrity of the building or the assurances we made to the community."
"This will allow us to move forward with the construction," said Anthony Gomez, the school board president. He added that the budgeting and plans were put together in a way that the district will not have to go back to voters for additional funding on the new school.
As well as cost savings, the district also is looking at ways of gaining additional funds, Stewart said. One avenue is through a capital lease, also called a lease purchase or COP.
"Although COPs are different from a bond issue, the mechanics of a COPs issue are very similar to bonds," Stewart said. "Under a lease-purchase agreement, the school district makes regular payments of principal and interest over a period of time for the acquisition and use of the property."
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What's the timetable for completion of new Cuyahoga Falls 6-12 school?
Stewart said the first signs of new structures taking shape at the site should appear by this summer.
The school building and theater are expected to open for the 2025-26 school year, with demolition of Bolich tentatively set to start as soon as December 2025.
The stadium is expected to open in August 2025.
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Reporter April Helms can be reached at ahelms@thebeaconjournal.com
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Cuyahoga Falls school district adds $18 million to cost of new campus
