Contractor: New Pender K-8 site pushing through earthwork; stormwater permit is next hurdle

Ben Warren, vice president of Bordeaux Construction and the project manager for Pender County Schools’ new K-8, told the school board the project has moved from surcharge placement into site grading and foundation work and that major underground utility design is underway.

Warren said crews brought in what he described as “approximately 300,000 yards of earth” to create a surcharge for settlement under the future building pad and that the contractor is currently spreading that earth across the site to reach final grades. He told the board the first large foundation pour — “about a 30-yard pour” for footing — already occurred and that gymnasium wall pours are planned as weather allows.

The contractor and district staff said the county building permit is in hand and the project’s traffic impact analysis (TIA) has been approved. The team is resubmitting the stormwater permit to the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ); Warren said DEQ has about 30 days to re-review the submittal and the district cannot place slabs without final stormwater approval.

Warren walked board members through a sequence of aerial photos showing site clearing beginning in April of last year, surcharge placement and the current phase of spreading the fill. He described the site layout: the middle-school wing closest to Highway 210, an internal ditch that separates the building and main parking from athletic and bus parking, and the location of mechanical and kitchen infrastructure in the building’s central “BIM-coordinated” core.

On schedule and budget, Warren said the team expects to place the first structural slab in June and the last slab by September, with the building structure rising through the winter. He reported that subcontract packages are largely settled, that the masonry contractor has mobilized, and that many of the remaining costs are in off-site sewer design and roadway improvements that will be funded initially from the project soft-cost reserves and later reimbursed.

The contractor described extensive Building Information Modeling (BIM) coordination to prefabricate ductwork and mechanical assemblies offsite, a step he said will speed installation and reduce conflicts. Warren and staff said allowances and contingencies remain available and that the team is working to reconcile outstanding soft-cost items such as playground equipment, furniture and sports-field lighting.

Board members who visited the site said the visit helped them see the scale of the work and the height of the former surcharge mound. Warren invited the board to schedule another site visit in the fall when walls and slabs will be visible from the road.

Nut graf: The K-8 project is advancing from earthwork into foundation and underground utility phases, but the schedule for the first structural concrete work depends on a pending DEQ stormwater permit; if that permit is issued within DEQ’s standard review period the contractor expects to place slabs in June and continue major structural work through the fall.

What the board asked and what remains: board members asked for follow-up visits and more detail on items left in contingency. Staff confirmed sewer design and off-site roadway work remain in development and that project allowances are intended to cover unexpected unsuitable soils; in the presentation Warren said soils have been better than expected so far. The district and contractor said they will report back with updates on the stormwater permit and the off-site roadway schedule.

Ending: The board received the update as information; no formal action was taken. The district and Bordeaux Construction will return with further updates and invited board members to a site visit in the fall.