Construction crews were still wrapping up work on the new Columbus Middle School just 10 days before the 155,000-square-foot facility admits students, but the building”s contractor said Friday it will be move-in ready.
“We”re doing punch items right now,” said Steve West, president of West Brothers Construction, which won the bid to build Columbus Middle School. He said the middle school will be move-in ready for teachers and administrators to set up shop on Jan. 18, and for students to begin classes on Jan. 19.
Public tours are slated to begin at the 155,000-square foot school next week. The school board will walk through the facility this afternoon.
Project”s cost in line with region
Nationally, about 68 percent of school construction projects to be completed in 2010 are new buildings. Looking at just Alabama, Florida, Georgia and Mississippi, that figure jumps to 77 percent.
Factoring into the $9.45 billion being spent on new schools around the country is Columbus Middle School, on Highway 373, just north of Columbus city limits.
And at $19.1 million, the project is a bargain compared to national and regional costs.
Construction costs of the new middle school are significantly less than the average cost, per square foot, of middle schools being built throughout the country this year, according to statistics from School Planning and Management magazine”s 2010 Annual Construction Report.
The median cost to build a new middle school is $187 per square foot; the median number of students is 900. Median building size is 130,000 square feet at a median cost of $22 million, or $26,667 per student.
Construction costs vary widely throughout the country. The median cost of middle schools built in Alabama, Florida, Georgia and Mississippi is $153 per square foot; median cost is $22 million for about 1,037 students. The median size of the building is 144,041 square feet.
Columbus Middle School is costing the district about $123 per square foot to house about 952 students in grades six, seven and eight.
The biggest contributing factor for the comparatively low price tag is the economic downturn, said project architect Chris Morrow of Pryor and Morrow Architects.
“I think the No. 1 reason was market conditions,” Morrow said.
The project cost is “below average for this type of building statewide,” he added.
Estimates initially put construction costs at about $24 million.
“As the economic downturn came in, we reduced it to 21 and actually got it for less than 20,” Morrow said.
Similar projects Pryor and Morrow is working now on the coast and in north Mississippi are estimated at $140-$150 per square foot.
“We bid this building several months after the financial collapse of ”08,” recalled Dr. Del Phillips, superintendent of Columbus schools. “There was once-in-a-lifetime stress as far as construction projects. It had just dried up.”
West called the building “a true bargain for the school and the city itself.
“I think Columbus will be really proud of it when it”s all over with,” West said.
Voters approved a $22 million bond issue in January 2007, enabling Columbus Municipal School District to purchase 50 acres of land at highways 45 North and 373 and build the new middle school.
Utilizing a spoke design, the school features a central commons area with sixth-, seventh- and eighth-grade halls stemming from the central area. The design separates the large school, by grade, into smaller communities. The building also was designed with technology in mind; each classroom, for instance, features built-in space for Promethean boards, which are interactive, computerized updates on traditional blackboards.
“It”s a unique school, and we got a really great price on it when the bids came in. And it looks like it”s going to finish for that amount,” Morrow said.
Construction delays, penalties
Work continues on the school, and Morrow said “they could be doing finish work, outside and different places for another two weeks.”
“Unanticipated labor problems” delayed the project, he said.
A contract dated April 2, 2009, put the completion date of the middle school at Nov. 1, 2010. The school district had said the school would admit new students after Christmas break, but the start of classes was later pushed back to Jan. 19.
West said that the same financial crisis that helped cut costs also contributed to the project”s delay.
Four subcontractors declared bankruptcy since construction began, West said. Two went out of businesses; two others simply walked off the job.
“We bid this thing during a very frightening economic time, and there have been several subcontractors who”ve closed their doors due to that,” West said.
In his 37 years in the business, West said he has never seen these types of labor problems during construction.
The contractor could face penalties for not completing the project on time.
According to the district”s contract with West, CMSD “will deduct $2,000 per day liquidated damages for each day of delay exceeding the contract until such time substantial completion is reached.”
Any such penalties will be subtracted from the final payout, which could be made sometime in March. The district makes payments each month, throughout duration of the contract. Contractors can refute assessed penalties based on weather conditions or other delays beyond their control. However, if West were penalized for every day from Nov. 2-today, the total deduction would be $138,000.
West Brothers hasn”t submitted a final pay order, and West said he would not discuss any possible penalties until the project is complete.
“There are some general conditions where you face conditions that are out of your control. Then, there is an allowance (in the contract) that is taken care of,” West said.
West, Morrow and Phillips have been on the site daily, in preparation for its grand opening.
“It”s going to be a showplace. I think it will get national ratings among schools. We”ve built several of them, and this is the best one we”ve ever built,” West said.
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