Plans to rebuild Miller South School for the Visual and Performing Arts and Pfeiffer Elementary School took another step forward at the most recent Akron Board of Education meeting, with members approving the design contract by a vote of 5-0.
The district is planning to build both schools on the lot where the former Kenmore High School stood. The draft contract with PRIME AE, the preferred design firm of the seven that responded to the bid, is for $4,513,580. Funds will come out of the total project budget, which is $61 million.
The new schools are designed to serve approximately 400 kindergarten-through-fifth-grade students, and 400 fourth-through-eighth-grade students. They will also house 60 staff and include a 500-seat auditorium, adequate parking and green spaces.
According to administration officials, the layout of the new buildings has yet to be determined, and could house both student populations in one building or two on the same site. The architects will be taking input from community and administration stakeholders during the design process.
With the comprehensive project years away from completion, both Miller South and Pfeiffer Elementary will continue to serve students and teachers for the foreseeable future at their current locations.
PRIME AE will be responsible for providing relevant site evaluations and testing to assist with demolition of the old Kenmore High School. It will also conduct any geotechnical investigations, asbestos and other hazardous material surveys; provide traffic studies; and plan utility services for the new school.
All of these services are in addition to the actual designs, which are the primary duty of the firm. According to the draft contract, the basic services of the new building design are the schematic designs, design development, construction documents and blueprints, construction admission and “closeout deliverables.”
Among the supplemental services Prime AE will be contracted to provide are community engagement efforts, educational planning and programming, landscaping, kitchen and food service consulting, theater and acoustic design and renderings.
The draft contract shows that PRIME AE will likely subcontract several of these services. The total supplemental services budget is $739,680, which is baked into the total contract of about $4.5 million.
According to the draft contract, demolition on the old Kenmore High School is expected to begin in fall of 2025. The start of the construction on the new project is still to be determined.
