News

County to take up agreement to create 'extraordinary revitalization' of HHS

Architects Jaime Henderson, Maggie Carnavale and Scott Donald answer questions at a School Board meeting.

By Lightning Reports, Published: February 3, 2019

The Henderson County commissioners on Monday night will take up a proposed agreement for the architectural services, construction management and other services for “an extraordinary revitalization” of Hendersonville High School at a cost of $59,175,605.

County artificial turf and a new track at the football stadium and the total comes to $60,275,605, according to documents PFA Architects of Asheville submitted to the county last week.
“We believe this project will be an extraordinary revitalization of the existing high school campus,” lead architects Maggie Carnevale and Scott Donald said in a cover letter, adding that they had “arrived at a mutually agreed upon program” based on the advanced planning work reviewed and endorsed by the Board of Commissioners and the School Board. The 30-page draft contract identifies Vannoy Construction as the construction cost estimator and names other major contractors, including land surveyor Ed Holmes and Associates and geotechnical engineers Wood Environmental and Infrastructure Solutions Inc., both of Asheville. Design charges include $180 an hour for the principal architect, $140 an hour for the project architect and $115 for design staff.
The contract lists 33 “additional services and special consultants” not covered in the total price.
County Commissioner Bill Lapsley, a civil engineer, described those outtakes as standard.
“Chances are, we won’t need any of them,” he said, and some have already been done by architects and engineers who had already evaluated the site.
In a cover letter, PFA Architects said the terms of the agreement commits the designers and builders to:
• Create a revitalized campus plan for 900 students with a capacity of up to 1,000.
• Keep the HHS operational throughout the three-year construction project.
• Preserve the Stillwell building for classrooms and other educational uses.
• Preserve and renovate the 1974 gym.
• Remove the old gym, cafeteria and bandroom and, after using it as “swing space,” remove the vocational-ed building.
• Provide fire truck access and turnaround space in the courtyard and commons area.
• Connect the Stillwell building and the main gym via a two-story fully accessible addition, which will house classrooms, band and chorus room and lunchroom.
• Renovate the historic auditorium and add seating and light and sound systems.
• Apply for a conditional use permit from the city of Hendersonville.
• Increase on-campus parking and provide a queuing lane for dropoff and pickup traffic.

Here is the complete cost breakdown, based on Vannoy cost estimates made on Jan. 11:
• Sitework, $7.7 million.
• Renovation, $15.8 million, including $3.5 million for the 1974 Jim Pardue Gymnasium and $11.2 million for the Stillwell building.
• New construction: $23 million.
• Construction management fee: $1.98 million.
• Design, technical, inspection fees: $4.5 million.
• Fixtures, furniture and equipment, technology: $3.5 million.
• Permit fees: $300,000.
• Electric utility relocation: $350,000.
The artificial turf and track resurfacing, which is not part of PFA’s work, would cost $1.1 million, not including stormwater or sewer line relocation, according to an estimate from Mooresville-based Medallion Athletic Products, an artificial turf contractor which installed the new fields at North, West and East Henderson high schools.
According to a construction timeline PFA submitted, the firm would spend 2019 drafting design and construction documents.
Here are the permitting, site prep and construction phases:
• January-April 2020: Permitting, bidding and mobilizing on site.
• May-November 2020: Demolition and sitework.
• June 2020-June 2021: renovation of Pardue gym and construction of new practice gym.
• June 2021-January 2022: New addition complete (classroom building, media center, cafeteria and band-chorus room)
• November 2021-April 2022: Renovate auditorium.
• April 2022-January 2023: Complete Stillwell renovation.
• January 2023: Demolish vocational-ed building.
• February-March 2023: Complete outdoor courtyard, new pressbox.