Two Everett schools to get upgrades
Published 10:26 pm Sunday, July 12, 2009
EVERETT — Two Everett elementary schools are next in the queue for major construction projects that are part of a $198 million bond measure voters approved in 2006.
And the timing appears ripe for competitive bids.
A contract for work at Whittier Elementary School in north Everett recently came in $1.7 million less than estimated.
With the construction sector slowed by the sluggish economy, school projects across the region are attracting more bidders.
“We are trying hard to get projects out on the street to help the economy and to take advantage of these prices,” said Hal Beumel, the Everett School District’s construction director. “It’s a great time for construction projects.”
Work at Jefferson and Whittier elementary schools should be well under way in the months ahead.
Here’s a look at each project:
Jefferson Elementary: The Everett School Board last week awarded a $722,450 contract to Northwest Construction of Bellevue to get the Jefferson campus ready for construction. The estimate for the site preparation work was $1.1 million. Those site improvements will include detention ponds, a sanitary sewer lift system and temporary parking lots.
Construction is expected to begin in September, assuming the district is granted final permits in August. A two-story classroom building will replace six single-story classroom pods. The gym and cafeteria also will be remodeled.
The project is being built for a maximum of 550 students. Current enrollment is 485.
District officials estimate the total project cost will be $15.6 million. It’s expected to be completed by January of 2011.
Whittier Elementary: Bayley Construction of Mercer Island was awarded a $6.2 million contract, which was well below the $7.9 million estimate.
Work is expected to be completed by fall of 2010.
The project will renovate the existing school, originally built in 1949. The existing gym will be demolished and a new one will be connected to a 1954 addition to the school.
One of the most visual changes at the school will be a more defined entry point, which is now hard to spot, Beumel said.
That doesn’t mean the school will lose the old one.
“You will see the old entrance,” Beumel said. “We are not tearing it out. The 1949 history will still be there.”
The project is being built for a maximum of 509 students. Current enrollment is 428.
The next big project under the $198 million bond will be modernization work at James Monroe Elementary School, which is expected to begin late in 2010.
Eric Stevick: 425-339-3446, stevick@heraldnet.com.
