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Allentown board advances construction bids for family engagement center and considers property purchase

Board of Directors, Allentown School District · November 21, 2025

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Summary

The board’s building committee advanced contracts for a new Family Engagement and Resource Center (general-contractor CMG: $8,508,100; key trade bids Abarell Electric and JBM Mechanical) and moved forward a proposed purchase of property at 1940 West Fairview St. (seller value cited at about $1.9 million) for future district expansion.

The Allentown School District building committee on Nov. 20 advanced a package of construction contract recommendations for a new Family Engagement and Resource Center and moved forward consideration of a separate property purchase.

Administration recommended CMG of Easton, Pa., for general construction at $8,508,100. Trade bids recommended for board consideration included Abarell Electric of Bethlehem ($1,187,000) for electrical work and JBM Mechanical of Nazareth for plumbing ($516,000) and mechanical ($1,187,000). The district said the combined bids were about $1.7 million below an earlier $12.7 million estimate, a result administrators described as competitive pricing.

Separately, administrators presented an agreement of sale for a property at 1940 West Fairview Street and adjoining parcels, described as the seller’s indicated value of approximately $1,900,000. District counsel and staff said final appraisal values, negotiation points and potential site remediation coverage would be resolved through solicitor review; the board moved the purchase authorization forward to the regular meeting with discussion about appraisal differences and negotiability.

A committee motion carried to place the construction contracts and the property purchase on a future regular‑meeting agenda for formal approval. If the board later approves the contracts and property purchase, the district will proceed with final contract review, site remediation assessment as needed, and construction scheduling.