Bremerton School Board approved a contract to rebuild two elementary schools in east Bremerton
The Bremerton School Board approved a contract at its Oct. 3 meeting with Tacoma-based design-build team Korsmo Construction and TCF Architecture to rebuild two elementary schools in east Bremerton.
View Ridge Elementary Arts Academy, built in 1952 and last remodeled in 1993, will be replaced.
The price proposal presented at the board meeting listed a $98 million estimate for Armin Jahr Elementary School, a $95 million estimate for View Ridge Elementary Arts Academy, and a 3.4% design-builder’s fee. These estimates do not include state sales tax.
The two new schools will receive funding from the district’s $150 million capital bond levy that passed in February, along with $22 million from the state. Construction on the project is expected to start in June of 2025 with substantial completion by Nov. 20, 2026, according to the contract.
Armin Jahr has 488 students attending this year and is using nine portable classrooms in addition to its school building, which will also be replaced.
As reported in the DJC in August, the district wants its progressive design-build team to build Armin Jahr and View Ridge elementary schools simultaneously using an integrated project team model, including the district, consultant OAC Services (the consultant the district hired to support its initial bond program startup, and prepare and manage the projects), specialty consultants, community partners and key subcontractors.
The district is also in the midst of its selection process for a GC/CM for a district-wide HVAC system upgrade, also included in the February bond levy. McKinstry of Seattle and Hermanson of Kent submitted qualifications for that $8 million project. Design West Engineering and Rice Fergus Miller are designing the upgrades.
The levy also funds replacing and relocating Renaissance High School, currently made up of 10 portable classrooms. The district wants to build a permanent building for the high school and move it to a more central location. A circa 1945 building that houses the district’s consolidated maintenance, operations and transportation facilities will also be replaced using funds from the levy.
Armin Jahr Elementary, at 800 Dibb St., was built in 1969, and a committee assembled by the district said updating the existing school would not be cost-effective. The current 39,761-square-foot school sits on eight acres, has 488 students attending this year and is using nine portable classrooms in addition to its school building.
View Ridge Elementary Arts Academy, at 3250 Spruce Ave., was built in 1952 and last remodeled in 1993, and the district’s committee said it’s at the end of its life. There are 404 students at View Ridge this year and the school uses 10 portable classrooms in addition to the main school building on its 23.4-acre lot.
According to the project notice for Armin Jahr and View Ridge elementary schools that ran in the DJC in August, progressive design-build services include scheduling, phasing logistics, collaborating with design consultants, managing and estimating design budgets and design contingency solutions, assisting in risk identification and management, coordinating environmental and hazmat investigation services and plans, directing construction best-practices, organizing design investigative work and providing assistance in selection of materials and building systems, and soliciting and managing subcontractor bid packages and supplier bidding “while providing high quality construction services to safely deliver a superior project.”
