Olympic Builders Gets Contract
This is a rendering of the entrance to the new Arts Center at Prairie du Chien High School. (Renderings courtesy of HSR Associates of La Crosse)
The 750-seat Arts Center at the high school will have improved acoustics, storage, support space, lighting, sound and an orchestra pit and cover with a hydraulic lift.
Olympic Builders will be general contractor for
Prairie du Chien school facilities upgrade project
By Ted Pennekamp
At a special Prairie du Chien School Board meeting Monday night, the board unanimously approved of Olympic Builders of Holmen as the general contractor for the $18.9 million facilities upgrade project approved by referendum in April of 2016.
Olympic had a base bid of $16,238,173, the lowest base bid of the six bidders. Other bidders included Fowler and Hammer Inc., Kraemer Brothers LLC, Market and Johnson, Miron Construction Inc., and Tricon Construction Group.
Olympic’s base bid included the third gym floor alternate of $535,000, the Bluff View storage and receiving shed of $126,524 and a stage orchestra pit and lift of $229,500. Another main item that was approved was Winona Controls to continue their work for the district on the HVAC systems. They had a breakout cost for the controls of $377,050. The low proposal for the Arts Center seating was Sauder Manufacturing Company of Archbold, Ohio who had a bid of $88,451.
Superintendent Drew Johnson said that the B.A. Kennedy and Bluff View projects will proceed wholly as planned. At the high school, the gymnasium will now be a full three floors, the Arts Center will be as planned with 750 seats, and other remodel projects will be as originally planned.
One alternate that the board did not accept was to increase the Arts Center from 750 to 1,000 seats. The cost to increase the seating was an additional $1,224,189, which would have put the project over the dollars available for the project, Johnson said.
The financing for the project is all in place, and as promised in the lead up to the referendum, the debt payments will continue at less than $1.4 million per year.
“This is a great project for the school and the community,” said Johnson.
Johnson noted that Olympic Builders will probably start almost immediately with some scale up. August or September of 2018 is the scheduled completion time and occupancy plan.
The general overall project involves construction of a new Arts Center, a new greenhouse, a new gymnasium and support space at the high school; and a gym annex, support space, instrumental music space and technical education space at Bluff View Intermediate School.
There will also be playground improvements at Bluff View, along with parking improvements and site upgrades. At B.A. Kennedy Elementary School, improvements will include remodeling, renovation and other improvements.
In addition, there will be air conditioning in all three schools, equipment acquired and furnishings and fixtures upgraded.
Some of the highlights of the project include upgrades to the library in B.A. Kennedy and upgrades to a first grade restroom. The library will include an updated computer lab and classroom space, along with a “sky-like” effect on the ceiling with plenty of natural daylight coming in from several windows. There will be color coding to indicate different areas of the library which will be arranged so as to maximize space efficiency. The restroom will have walls from floor to ceiling between toilets. Each toilet area will have its own door. Fixtures will be upgraded. A shower will also be installed at BAK.
The parking lot at Bluff View will be reorganized for improved efficiency and safety. It will be simplified and easier to navigate for dropping off or picking up students. The parking will be changed to 90-degree stalls and parking will be increased to 170 stalls, which is 50 more than the current configuration. There will be an approximate 20-car length drop off lane. Parking lot lighting and drainage will also be improved.
There will also be upgrades to the technical education and wood shop rooms as well as the band room at Bluff View.
The band room will be much bigger and will have improved storage for instruments. There will be more practice rooms and the acoustics will be improved.
Bluff View plans also call for auxiliary gym space which would allow for two full basketball courts end-to-end when needed. Otherwise, there will be a moveable wall and the auxiliary gym space can be used as a wrestling room.
The Bluff View science room will also have improvements. All rooms will have their own thermostats.
The high school Arts Center will have 750 seats, some of which will vary in size. There will be a wood look to the ceiling and the floor will be either epoxy or rubber. There will be extra support space including storage, costume sewing, a make-up room, etc. There will also be an orchestra pit in front of the stage. There will be a hydraulic orchestra pit cover lift.
There will be a 30x40 greenhouse coming off of the south end. The high school will have all new stations in the home economics area and a new foods lab. The science rooms will also have several improvements including several new microscope work stations and a shared eye wash and shower area. The chemistry room will have more storage and improved gas lines. Counter tops and a hood will be replaced. Upper cabinets will be added in the biology lab.
There are numerous other upgrades that are part of the project.
