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Proposed school construction could exceed $100 million for Steamboat Springs School District

Teresa Ristow

— Construction costs associated with four potential capital projects for the Steamboat Springs School District were revealed during a facilities meeting Wednesday night.

The cost to construct a new high school, new pre-kindergarten through eighth grade school or new elementary school range from $54 million to $80 million for construction alone, and could exceed $100 million when the cost of furniture, development fees and various professional consultants are added.

“All of the options are based on the premise that there’s a new school building, and then what the impact is on the other schools,” said Matt Porta, an architect with SlaterPaull/HCM.



The highest potential pricetag would be for the construction of a new high school on the district’s existing parcel near the Steamboat II subdivision.

A new high school is estimated to cost about $56 million, which would be added to renovation costs at the existing school campuses outlined in one of three options district officials and community members are studying.



The total cost of construction on all campuses for this option would be about $78 million, which doesn’t include typical goods and services needed to complete the school, which run from 24 to 32 percent of a total capital project — bumping the total project cost to about $108 million.

Porta and engineer Jeff Chamberlin, of RLH Engineering, are studying recent school construction projects in Colorado to determine estimated square footage costs for the construction of the potential new schools. They determined the $56 million figure based on a new 198,000 square-foot high school costing $285 per square foot.

“That’s what a new high school is going for these days,” Chamberlin said.

An option to create a new pre-kindergarten through eighth-grade school, also on the Steamboat II site, would cost about $24 million for the new school, total $56.7 million when considering renovations at other sites and ultimately could total about $79 million when costs other than construction are added.

An option to create a new pre-kindergarten through fifth-grade school on the district’s existing site would cost about $16.5 million for the new school, total $55.4 million with renovations at other sites and ultimately could total $77 million when other costs are added in.

A fourth option — to purchase and utilize Heritage Christian School west of Steamboat — would cost $13.6 million for the school and needed renovations, and total $63 million when adding renovations at other schools.

The costs of each of these projects could be adjusted based upon several variables, and Porta and Chamberlin are planning to consult with contractors familiar with Steamboat Springs to better estimate the square footage costs of each proposal.

Community members and district staff at Wednesday’s meeting spent more than an hour discussing the four options and ranking them based on function, community support and logistics.

District officials are in the process of reviewing five proposals for municipal underwriting services for a potential bond measure.

To reach Teresa Ristow, call 970-871-4206, email tristow@SteamboatToday.com or follow her on Twitter @TeresaRistow


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