Board approves Coopertown renovation bids, adds modest rooftop solar array and advances financing plan

The Haverford Township School District Board of Directors voted April 24 to award construction contracts for the Coopertown Elementary School additions and renovation project, approve a package of change orders and equipment purchases, and accept a board-level alternate to install a 129.6-kilowatt roof-mounted solar array.

District and contractor representatives described a project budget of about $29.15 million in total project costs, excluding a separate solar line item the board considered as an add alternate. Ken Matthews, representing the district’s architects, said the hard construction bids plus recommended alternates produced “hard construction costs of a little over $24,000,000” and that adding soft costs and a recommended contingency brought the “total project budget to $29,151,000.”

The board approved the low bidder for general construction, awarded the HVAC, plumbing and electrical contracts, and authorized direct purchase of major electrical equipment to reduce lead-time risk. In roll-call motions later in the meeting, board members formally approved change orders, authorizations for several CoStar vendor purchases and the solar add alternate.

Why it matters: The Coopertown work is the final elementary renovation that brings the district closer to parity of amenities among its five elementary schools and removes modular classrooms at that site. District leaders also told the board that stabilizing long-term operating costs for the district — particularly electricity — factored into the decision to add a rooftop solar array now, even though the array is smaller than earlier feasibility studies had modeled.

What the…