Abington board hears detailed design and permitting update for new middle school, schedules April open house

Design and construction consultants gave the Abington Board of School Directors a detailed progress report on plans for the new Abington Middle School on Wednesday, outlining a permitting timeline, site layout changes and next steps for community input.

Dan Demo, project manager with Shrader Group Architecture, showed an updated site plan placing the new middle school on the footprint of the existing tennis courts and track and described circulation changes designed to separate parent drop‑off from bus routes. The plan preserves the playfields in the lower right of the site, relocates one baseball field slightly south, adds a softball field and proposes two synthetic‑turf multipurpose fields as a project option. “One of the key things we are really trying to focus on with this site layout is separating parent and student drop offs and keeping those vehicles separate from each other,” Demo said.

Demo walked the board through the three‑level academic wings arranged as four learning communities (one per grade), special‑education suites, a centralized kitchen serving three staggered lunch seatings, and a theater designed to seat about 750 (550 lower, 200 upper). He said the gym will sit at a lower elevation because of a roughly 30‑foot grade drop across the site.

Doug Taylor of ICS reviewed the land‑development approvals the project must clear, noting concurrent submissions to zoning, the planning commission and the conservation district. He told the board the conservation‑district review is the longest lead, estimating a nine‑to‑ten‑month timeline for that process and calling it the program’s critical path. Taylor said the project has completed 30 percent schematic design and expects 60 percent design documents later this month; construction documents and bidding will follow.

On schedule and cost: presenters said bids are likely in September–October (timing depends on receipt of township feedback) and that construction mobilization could begin in 2027. Taylor said administration expects site work and the first construction phase to start in early 2027, with the new building wrapped in June 2029 and remaining site work finishing in fall 2030. He added that alternates such as a concession/restroom building and turf fields will be bid as options and may be omitted if they exceed the district’s referendum budget; however, utilities (water, sewer, electric) would be roughed in to allow future addition.

Board members pressed the team on geotechnical risk and lessons from the high‑school build. Consultants said the team has conducted roughly 70 borings across the site—about 25–28 within the planned building footprint—to identify bedrock and unsuitable fill, and that additional borings and a historical (phase‑one) study will continue as the design is refined. “We’ll make sure that we have the tests and allowances included in the bid so bidders understand what to anticipate,” one consultant said.

The board was told a community open house is scheduled for April 21 and that renderings and updated views will be shared with the public in May. Project materials and a question form will be available at 1d1future.org, the presenters said.

The meeting ended with board members encouraging residents to submit questions and design input through the project website; no vote or formal action on the project design was taken during the presentation.