Upper Darby details capital-projects plan; proposes low-cost bathroom restoration and advances hospital planning
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Summary
Director of operations Marvin Lee presented a capital-projects update including a lower-cost surface-renovation method for Highland Park bathrooms (negotiated to roughly $416,000), grant-funded roofing/solar projects, generator replacements, and near-term planning for the recently acquired hospital property; Clifton Heights Middle School substantial completion target is Aug. 23, 2026.
Marvin Lee, the district's director of operations, gave a detailed capital-projects update outlining renovations, grant-funded work and plans for the district's recently acquired hospital property.
Lee said original bids to renovate multiple high-school toilet rooms were roughly $3.5'3.8 million; after value-engineering the administration found a surface-restoration method (identified in the presentation as "Miracle Method") that could accomplish much of the intended modernization for a fraction of the cost. Initial pricing for that alternate method was about $480,000 and Lee said negotiations drove the estimate to approximately $416,000. Administration plans to video-scope the plumbing behind walls before work begins to verify conditions and costs.
Other planned projects for spring/summer 2026 include replacing nine emergency generators, improving interior security doors at Garrettford Elementary, and roofing plus solar installs at two schools. Lee said grants currently cover about 80% of an approximately $3.5 million set of roofing/solar projects (and roughly 70% even if additional roofing costs are added).
Lee updated the board on the Clifton Heights Middle School construction schedule, aiming for substantial completion and occupancy permitting by Aug. 23, 2026; the administration said it has negotiated furniture discounts of about 54% for the Clifton project.
Regarding the Delaware County Memorial Hospital property the district bought, Lee said the administration is executing short-term security and compliance steps (fire watch and mobile cameras) to avoid operating the boiler system over winter, citing an estimated $750,000 operating-cost alternative vs. approximately $130,000 for a fire-watch program. Facilities staff have inventoried more than $400,000 worth of electrical equipment and supplies that may be reused in district buildings. An RFQ to select architects and engineers for hospital planning is under way with proposals due tomorrow, and the administration plans dual tracks to evaluate (1) adaptive reuse vs. demolition and (2) structural review and permitting.
Board members praised facilities staff for negotiating savings and asked administrative staff to continue regular updates; administrators warned that while some asset sales and reuse will offset costs, demolition and future development of the hospital site will require significant investment and may not be fully recouped.