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$680 million school bond could be boon for builders

By: Jeff McDonald//March 28, 2014//

$680 million school bond could be boon for builders

Jeff McDonald//March 28, 2014//

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If voters were to pass an upcoming $680 million bond measure for Beaverton School District, money would go to a host of projects – including several that could start soon, school officials say.

Measure 34-219, on the May 20 ballot, would provide money for 27 projects over an eight-year period, said Beaverton School District spokeswoman Maureen Wheeler. Every school in the district would benefit, she added.

projects would include a $25 million new elementary school, a $51.6 million new middle school and a $109 million new high school. The latter one, at South Cooper Mountain off of Southwest Scholls Ferry Road, would be built in three years and open by fall 2017, Wheeler said.

“We’re going to want to move pretty quickly,” she said. “Four out of five high schools in the district are nearing or over capacity.”

Construction industry officials have supported school construction as public work has lagged in the past 18 to 24 months, said Mike Salsgiver, executive director for the Associated General Contractors’ Oregon-Columbia chapter.

Voters passed a $482 million bond measure for Portland Public Schools in 2012, and a $374 million bond measure for Portland Community College in 2008.

“As the private work starts to restart, projects like the PPS work and the Beaverton bond measure are essential,” Salsgiver said. “Individual universities and all that are essential to an industry that’s trying to get its balance and get back on its feet.”

Local contractors are eyeing potential Beaverton school projects, including some that would move forward quickly if voters were to pass the measure. Officials with Happy Valley-based Emerick Construction have already had conversations with school district officials.

“Once you get past the shock value of the dollar amount and look at what they’re trying to do out there, it’s very impressive,” Emerick Construction President Corey Lohman said. “I appreciate how well they have thought through what those dollars would do. I’ve been really impressed with their approach.”

The requests for proposals for the new high school and middle school as well as contracts for roofing and artificial turf replacements could be initiated in late May, according to the district.

Depending on project size and complexity, Beaverton School District would use a variety of procurement tools, including use of the construction manager-general contractor model on some larger projects, according to officials.

Some of the smaller projects would be grouped together under one design contract. That would benefit a company such as Aloha-based INLINE Commercial Construction Inc., which has performed similar work for Portland Public Schools.

INLINE during the past two years has performed more than 70 school projects, including facility improvements at multiple PPS schools, communications coordinator Ashlee Blessing said.

“We’re able to perform those multiple trades,” she said. “It allows the school district one contact rather than going out to lots of different subs.”

INLINE also could seek to become a partner for the new high school project, on a site near its Aloha offices, Blessing said. The firm recently signed a contract to partner with Skanska USA Inc. on the $62 million to $67 million Franklin High School modernization project in Portland.

“Considering our average project size and annual average revenue, that project is larger than we would take on alone,” she said.

Lease Crutcher Lewis, meanwhile, is waiting for voters’ approval before deciding which projects to pursue. It presently is the CM-GC for the $52 million to $56 million Roosevelt High School modernization project in Portland, project executive Tony Church said.

Lease Crutcher Lewis has completed a few school projects in Beaverton, and has a meeting with school district officials next month to discuss the bond, Church said. The company would likely pursue a couple of projects if voters were to pass the measure, he said.

“We would go wherever we would be in the best position to get the work,” he said. “It’s a little bit hard to say what our plan is. We want to make sure the bond passes and (then) we will put together a good strategy.”

 

 

Measure 34-219

A $680 million bond being put before voters by Beaverton School District would pay for repairs, a capacity increase, modernization and renovation of all facilities, safety upgrades, and replacement of outdated learning technology, curriculum and equipment. Work would take place over approximately eight years. If the measure were to pass, the district’s overall bond tax rate of $2.11 per $1,000 of assessed value would not change, according to the district.

Projected costs (allowing for contingencies and inflation):

Replacements: $123.5 million

Renovations: $200.9 million

Modernizations: $31.8 million

New schools and land: $227.7 million

Technology: $69.1 million

Program requirements: $27 million

Total: $680 million



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