• On April 22, 2008, the residents of North Tonawanda City School District had the foresight to overwhelmingly approve in a 810-143 vote a $48 million capital improvement project that will help address improvements long needed in each of the District’s buildings. This project is the first phase of a $62 million Capital Facilities Plan and is being developed at no cost to the taxpayers because it will be funded through a combination of EXCEL Aid, State Building Aid and the District’s Capital and Technology Reserves.

     

    Since the vote, the design team, led by Kideney Architects, has been working to further refine the project’s scope of work and the specific design elements of each building. In late August 2008, Christa Construction LLC was selected by the District administration and the Board of Education to provide construction management (CM) services for the project. The company is one the largest K-12 school CMs in New York State, with over $4 billion of similar work completed or under contract since 1990. Christa’s Buffalo regional office is responsible for providing the comprehensive CM services for the company’s K-12 Division.

     

    Our buildings range in age from 40 – 84 years old and many portions of the District-wide physical plant have been breaking down. The project’s scope addresses these needs with renovations and repairs at each school.

    District-wide work includes:
     
    • HVAC upgrades to provide proper levels of heating and ventilation and to improve energy
      efficiency

    • Electrical and lighting upgrades to improve energy efficiency

    • Plumbing system repairs

    • Foundation repairs

    • Site safety and security improvements

    • Emergency generator repairs or replacements

    • Exterior renovations and repairs on roofs, masonry and windows

    From a strictly visual standpoint, many of these improvements will not be especially apparent. However, residents of the District will readily notice specific portions of work, including:
     
    • Extensive improvements to the High School/Meadow Elementary site complex to create
      additional parking, a safer pedestrian environment and improved vehicular flow
    • Expansion of technology, providing data, projectors and interactive whiteboards in all
      classrooms.

    • Interior upgrades and repairs, such as ceiling, wall and floor finishes

    • Replacement of cracked sidewalks, curbs and concrete steps at most schools

     

    In September of 2008, Christa and Kideney presented to the District a scheduling plan to separate the entire capital project into a Phase 1A (the Middle School and Drake Elementary) and a Phase 1B (all remaining buildings). The plan was accepted by the District in October and Kideney completed the Phase 1A submission to the NYS Education Dept. (SED) on November 3, 2008.

     

    By breaking the project into two phases, the District can now take advantage of the early 2009 bidding market while allowing the majority of the project to be carefully studied, designed, approved and bid without compromising the project’s overall completion date.

     

    Phase 1A buildings were bidded in Spring 2009 and construction was phased during summer, fall and winter 2009.

     

    The Phase 1B design will be complete by mid-winter with a February 2009 submission to SED. The “bid and award” period occured in late 2009. Read more about the Phase 1B bids here. The 1B construction will be phased starting in the spring of 2010.

     

    Completion of work in each school will take place in phases starting in late 2009 - all work for the capital project is scheduled for completion by late 2011.