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Castleberry bond update: steel up and major site work underway at new high school; band hall due Oct. 1
Summary
Bond program manager reported progress on the 2024 high school bond: steel erection and slab on grade nearly complete, band hall renovation around 60% complete with October turnover, parking and stormwater work ongoing and some schedule risk tied to utility coordination and city approvals.
Bond program manager Cameron Holloman told the board that construction on the 2024 high school bond remains on schedule overall despite rainy weather and coordination challenges with utilities.
"We are wrecking steel," Holloman said, and reported slab-on-grade work largely complete and steel erection underway; he estimated foundations and steel will be complete by September and that the project should be dried in by January–February to begin interior work.
Holloman reviewed several active elements: permanent power has been switched on, underground storm-water work is finished though final connections await utility coordination, the band hall renovation is roughly 60 percent complete with an expected district turnover October 1, and the West-side parking lot area will be prepared once portables are removed. He noted the storm shelter/competition-gym wall is poured concrete and highlighted progress on the theater and choir and the media center redesign, where bidding had begun.
Holloman said the district has paid roughly 27–29 percent of renovation and associated soft costs while project completion is estimated at about 33–36 percent, putting the district about 5–10 percent "ahead of schedule relative to what we're paying out." He told the board that these cash-flow dynamics allow the district to carry several million dollars each month, generating interest as work continues.
He identified the primary near-term risk as coordination with the City of Fort Worth on a water line crossing and reimbursement details; Holloman said the council had agreed in principle to the design and to full reimbursement but that the city will not revisit the item until October. He also described usual construction delays related to rain and to coordinating multiple contractors, engineers and agencies.
Board members asked about disposal or sale of portables; Holloman said the district posted them for sale, drew limited buyers because of the high cost to move the units, and ultimately recovered funds when one buyer agreed to demolish them and pay the district. He also said the district salvaged compatible HVAC units for other uses.
Holloman said the jobsite is making steady progress and that the program will return with furniture requests and renderings for the media center in coming months.
