Wilson SD board approves low bidders for Southern Middle School renovation; all-in cost about $39.6 million

The Wilson School District Board of Education on June 18 approved a resolution to accept apparent low bidders for the Southern Middle School additions and renovations and the recommended alternates, moving the project toward contract awards and a planned July 21 notice to proceed.

The vote followed a presentation of bid results by a project presenter identified in the meeting as Theo, who summarized low bids for four packages — general construction, mechanical/HVAC, plumbing and electrical — and recommended several alternates the district should accept.

Theo said the general-construction low bidder was ECI (base bid $16,642,000). Midline Mechanical was the low bidder for HVAC at $8,640,000. Michael Mechanical submitted the low plumbing bid at $2,663,000, and McCarty & Son Inc. was the low electrical bidder at $4,705,572. After adding the recommended alternates, the presenter said the construction subtotal was $32,813,772; construction-related soft costs brought the figure to about $35,334,512, and including design fees and contingencies produced an all-in total of $39,625,117.

Theo recommended taking alternates that include: unclassified construction (to shift risk for encountering rock to the contractor), milling and overlay of the mechanical-yard asphalt, painting existing exterior metal panels to match the new design, and polished corridor tile in lieu of matte tile. He said the alternates did not change which firms were the apparent low bidders.

The presentation included project-area figures: 166,218 square feet of renovated area, 31,510 square feet of new building area, totaling 197,096 square feet, which the presenter calculated at an average cost of about $166 per square foot for the recommended package.

Board members asked a few clarifying questions and then moved and seconded the resolution on operations item 11.3 to accept the bids and recommended alternates. The board approved the motion by roll call, 8–0. The presenter said the district planned to issue letters of intent to the low bidders the next day, and Fox Rothschild would review contracts. He added building-permit comments had been addressed and that permits and MPDS sign-offs were expected to allow a July 21, 2025, notice to proceed for on-site work.

The board’s approval authorizes the administration and facilities staff to finalize award paperwork and move forward with contract execution and permit finalization; Theo said the administration would return with Lincoln Park bid results the following week.

The project discussion and vote were part of the district’s regular operations agenda. The board and administration noted work will be phased and that school staff and students at Southern will be asked to cooperate with construction schedules during the multi-year project.