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Board hears $49 million estimate for Isbel Middle School modernization and discusses phased build and preservation
Summary
Architects presented a schematic design for Isbel Middle School that preserves the historic façade, adds a multipurpose room and reorients the front office; the project team reported a preliminary schematic estimate of about $49 million for phases one and two and discussed phasing, interim housing and community preferences.
HMC Architects presented the schematic design for Isbel Middle School to the Santa Paula Unified School District Board of Trustees, outlining a retrofit-plus-addition approach that preserves the historic street-facing façade and adds a new multipurpose room, kitchen/servery, a daylighted grand stair and a reoriented secure front office.
The district's project manager said the schematic-level cost estimate for the modernization and the new construction is "coming in around $49 million" when the modernization ($20 million), new construction (~$9 million for roughly 15,000 square feet), site work (~$2.5 million), a 10% contingency and an allowance for escalation are combined. The team said that estimate covers phases one and two and does not include optional future classroom buildings described in earlier studies.
That costing prompted detailed questioning from trustees about whether the work could be split into phases and how interim student housing and security would be maintained. The architects and the structural engineer said the buildings were designed with seismic joints so the new and existing structures can be built and move independently, allowing phasing. They cautioned, however, that phasing can raise overall cost because of duplicated interim moves, additional site work and construction-price escalation if parts are delayed.
The design team emphasized guiding principles the board expected: improved supervision and a secure, single visitor entrance, moving pickup and drop-off off a residential street to a busier road to improve traffic flow, reducing impermeable blacktop to add landscaping and reduce heat-island effects, and creating flexible indoor/outdoor learning spaces. The team also described a connector with enlarged restrooms and a large daylighted staircase to provide a direct north-side route from portable classrooms into the renovated building.
Architects and the board traced the design's history: an earlier option favored complete teardown and rebuild, which would have increased square footage; community feedback led the district to develop a retrofit-plus-addition compromise and evaluate both options in the environmental review. Board members asked the architects to return with a quick ballpark estimate for the full rebuild option so the board can compare both paths prior to upcoming special meetings.
Project schedule items: the team said schematic design is complete, the district's draft environmental impact report is being finalized, and the project goal is to submit documents to the Division of the State Architect (DSA) in November. The project manager noted that a lease-leaseback contractor will later reconcile independent cost estimates with the district estimator.
Trustees and the public raised questions about what must be included in an initial phase and which elements can be deferred. Architects said the MPR/servery can be phased separately but some site work and interim housing moves would still be required; the administration and architects agreed to produce clearer breakout estimates for phase-one vs. phase-two scope before a March decision on related contracts.
The presentation closed with a request from trustees that the architects and estimator provide a concise comparison of the retrofit-plus-addition and the full-rebuild options so the board and public can weigh costs, historic preservation and long-term classroom needs before approving next steps.
