Agenda - 09-27-2004-1 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Revised Budget The revised budget illustrates changes in land acquisition costs and the approval of Addendum `B ". The cost factor changes include an increase in land costs of $1,142,000 approved by the County Commissioners in June 2004. The budget also reflects the approval of Addendum `B" which added $1,900,000 to the project instead of the initial amount of $2,200,000. The remaining $300,000 is intended to be used for off-site infrastructure improvements. This model does not change square footage requirements for the building. Design Development The Design and Development budget with probable costs includes the increase in square footage required for the school program and the projected square foot cost increases for construction. The additional square footage will be explained in more detail below. The square foot increase is a nationwide trend. The Orange County Middle School project has experienced similar increases. The original square footage of the building was established at 182,000 square feet. The $30,000,000 budget reduced that figure to 155,000 square feet. The present option contains 162,185 square feet. That square footage has been reviewed by staff and architects for additional areas for reduction and none is available. Any further reduction in square footage would have a permanent impact on the core facilities that would be difficult to compensate for later. To reach the square foot target of 155,000 would require a reduction of over 6,000 square feet. This is the equivalent of eight classrooms or the auditorium. A review of the comparable projects around the state indicates that our square footage is lower than other similar sized projects. Project Southside, Beaufort Northside, Onslow Cedar Ridge, Orange CHCCS Student Square Footage Total Sq. Ft. Per Capacity Sq. Ft. Per Core Capacity Core 750 1,286 169,674 226 132 905 1,225 176,510 195 144 1000 1,500 206,900 207 138 800 1,200 162,195 203 135 Using the School Planning Division guidelines and extrapolating a 1,200 -core capacity, a square footage requirement of over 170,000 square feet is indicated. Unless the program or capacity numbers are changed, any architectural reduction would be minimal at best. Square foot cost increases have ranged from 20% to 40% in last two years. The major force behind these increases has been the cost of steel and oil. Per square foot costs are ranging from $120.00 to $130.00 per square foot. This trend is reflected in North Carolina school construction figures. School construction costs have increased 24% from 2003 to August of 2004 according to figures released by the Department of Public Instruction on Tuesday, September 14, 2004. If that percentage were applied to the construction standards of $110.00 per square foot, the cost would increase to $136.40. This trend has impacted schools across the country. A recent article from Education Week is included for your review that describes this trend.