Study: King George vocational center has ‘good bones’ but renovation could approach cost of new build; board asks for new‑build estimates

Consultants presented a feasibility study July 1 to the King George County School Board on converting the county’s former vocational building into a career and technical education (CTE) center, saying the structure is usable but will require extensive remediation and upgrades.

Jeff Harris, who led the consultant team, told the board the building’s “bones” are solid but that the exterior masonry and interior finishes suffer from long‑term water infiltration. “The bones of the building are in pretty good shape,” Harris said. He listed recurring problems including moisture‑damaged concrete masonry unit (CMU) walls, rusting embedded reinforcement, single‑pane windows, outdated mechanical/electrical/plumbing systems and no fire‑suppression system.

The report documents condition assessments for site, building envelope, structural, mechanical/electrical/plumbing (MEP), accessibility and hazardous materials. Harris said the existing roof framing can likely be reused with a new standing‑seam metal roof and proposed a repair approach that includes exterior spray‑foam insulation, a short brick “skirt” at the base of walls, and metal panel accents to stop wind‑driven rain from reaching the CMU wall cores.

The consultants also proposed an interior reconfiguration to accommodate culinary arts, engineering/mechatronics, agricultural/greenhouse access and shared multiuse changing rooms and classrooms. Harris showed a plan that would infill some existing overhead doors, enlarge the electrical room, expand toilet rooms for ADA compliance and create a multipurpose culinary lab with adjacent cold/dry storage.

Cost estimates and comparisons

At the presentation Harris said the existing building measures about 17,700 square feet. Using a preliminary estimate put together by a cost estimator, he said the project would…