The board approved the project’s $122.32 million guaranteed maximum price during its May 19 meeting.
“This is certainly a project we need to see through,” Superintendent Holly Ferguson said. “The facility is built for 55,000 students when we are at complete buildout ... it's to serve this district.”
Diving in deeper
The project will be funded through bond funds. The guaranteed price will fund the three projects, said Todd Shirley, PISD’s chief of construction and design. The three projects include:
- administration building
- the site package
- an outdoor learning/community center
Along with the administration building and community center, the site plans include space for a future natatorium and another future project. That project has not yet been determined but initial conversations said it could be a performing arts center, Shirley said.
Now that the necessary schools for the district have been built or are under construction to meet its growing student population demands, officials can now focus on the future administration building, Shirley said.
“We’ve been waiting for the right time to have this conversion,” he said. “The board’s vision, the district’s vision, has always been that schools come first and an administration building comes second.”
The current administration building has iron pipes, and there is a concern for drinkable water. It also has significant inconsistencies with heating and cooling throughout the building, Shirley said. The building has been used by the district for the past 60 years and was a K-12 campus before being repurposed.
“We are out of space,” Shirley said.
Breaking it down
The entire site is 53 acres, said James Pierson, a senior project manager with Pogue Construction.
It is located east of Rodgers Middle School just north of US 380 off Lakewood Drive.
The community center will include a pavilion that will be shared with the town of Prosper. It will also have a community room similar to the one at the stadium, which is regularly booked and events have been turned away, Shirley said.
The outdoor community center will be 22,000 square feet that will have a library and learning area, Pierson said.
The administration building will be 120,000 square feet and three floors with a basement, IUT will have four elevators and can operate for up to 2,300 occupants, Pierson said.
