Cornwall-Lebanon board hears $109 million estimate for Cedar Crest High School renovation; stadium upgrades to be bid separately

Cornwall-Lebanon School District officials and their consultants told the school board at a January public work session that the planned renovation of Cedar Crest High School is estimated at about $109,000,000, and that stadium upgrades will be bid separately to attract more competition.

The district’s presentation said the high school project covers roughly 300,000 square feet of renovation with about 11,000 square feet of new additions. The estimate includes roughly $9,000,000 in contingency split between market contingency and construction (change-order) contingency, soft costs as a lump sum, and district-purchased items such as technology and some equipment.

The work described in the presentation would replace mechanical, electrical and plumbing systems across wide swaths of the building. “Especially mechanically and electrically and plumbing, everything is getting replaced,” consultant John Michel said, noting ductwork, wiring, controls and piping would be new in many areas because existing systems were at or beyond expected useful life. The auditorium is slated for a full gut and rebuild; other work includes grouped science classrooms, expanded restrooms including single-use stalls, a new weight-training room and a base-bid multipurpose room with an alternate for a wrestling/multi-sport room.

Consultants said subsurface plumbing and stormwater work and expanded HVAC/electrical scopes raised the estimate since earlier planning. The team also proposed reducing some locker scope and refining stage and planetarium work. The presentation noted the district has already purchased long-lead electrical switchgear to avoid schedule risk.

Stadium work will be bid separately and includes expanded locker-room support (to address Title IX parity), a combined concessions-and-restroom building with about 18 fixtures per side (about 36 fixtures total), upgraded concession capacity, base-bid handrails and an add-alternate to remove and replace the existing bleachers to improve ADA access. The press box would remain in place; the ticket booth would be veneered and upgraded. Consultants said a separate, smaller bid package should increase competitive bidding on the stadium work.

District staff and consultants laid out a near-term schedule: the district planned to release both the high school and stadium projects to bid on Jan. 30, hold pre-bid conferences (stadium Feb. 5; high school Feb. 6), set bids due March 6 with a one-week buffer if bidders request it, and aim to award contracts on March 17 so contractors can order materials and mobilize. The consultants said construction mobilization and staging would begin in spring (April–May), with the stadium expected to finish in 2026 and the high school phased into fall 2027.

Because of long lead times on major equipment, the administration proposed pre-purchasing two emergency generators — an estimated $400,000 unit for the high school and an estimated $120,000 unit for the stadium — so life-safety power will be available as renovated spaces come back online. Consultants said lead times for large generators currently can be a year or more.

Several related facilities items were discussed: the Falcon Connector expansion is on schedule and already serving approximately 22 classrooms; a separate sewer lining proposal for piping outside the high school would be contracted through a vendor that sleeves existing pipes to reduce disruption (the district described procurement via CoStars; a definitive contract amount and schedule were not specified in the presentation); and the district recommended awarding a water-heater contract at Ebenezer Elementary to Frylitz after a January bid opening produced two identical low bids.

District and consultant remarks emphasized the scale of the work and the need to phase construction to preserve classroom operations and manage parking and laydown areas during the multi-year renovation. “It’s time for us to move on it now,” Dr. Domencic said at the close of the presentation.

No formal contract awards or budget approvals were recorded at the session; staff indicated many of the items will be brought to the board for action at upcoming meetings once bids are received and final cost tallies are complete.

What happens next

District staff said final bid packages will be posted at the end of January, with contract awards targeted for mid-March and construction mobilization thereafter. Staff also flagged that certain items — notably switchgear and generators with long lead times — are being procured ahead of construction to avoid schedule delays.