High school renovation moves forward; zoning, utilities and permits advance as district breaks project into bid packages

Design consultants and district staff told the Facilities and Operations Committee on Feb. 24 that the North Penn High School renovation has advanced on zoning, utility coordination and early bid packaging while the project team refines phasing to keep building systems operational during construction.

The update summarized recent milestones: conditional approval of the E&S (erosion and sediment) permit, ongoing code review for Phase 1, communications with PECO on electrical requirements, draft legal documents returned by North Penn Water and Sewer Authority about water meter pits, and a notice-to-proceed issued to prime contractors for Bid Pack 1. Consultants said several items remain to be resolved, including additional soil/infiltration borings requested by the Montgomery County Conservation District and a zoning hearing board filing targeted for April.

Colin Case, a representative from CHA working on the project, said the team issued a notice to proceed to the four prime contractors for Bid Pack 1 and that work is scheduled to begin on site this summer, with the natatorium work starting in late May or early June. Case described planned summer utility work to install new water meter pits and relocate a fuel tank (propane relocation is pending township approval) to make room for additions and site phasing.

The project has been split into multiple bid packages to shorten duration and maintain building operations during construction. Case described the planned phasing: bid package 1 includes the natatorium and K Pod work; bid package 2 involves the pod addition and multiple pod renovations (A, C, portions of B) with site staging; and bid package 3 will group larger, mechanically-fed spaces (auditorium, gyms, tech ed, central plant) together because they share the central plant systems. The team is evaluating whether to…