Major construction projects underway at Festus High School are progressing on schedule, but two of them are slightly over budget, Superintendent Link Luttrell said.
The construction of a ballfield at Festus High School and the conversion of the high school amphitheater into a multipurpose room are expected to be finished before the start of the 2021-2022 school year, which starts Aug. 23.
A performing arts center is being added at the high school, too, and it looks like that project will be finished in the latter half of October, Luttrell said.
In addition, the architectural design for a large wellness center on the high school campus is moving forward, Luttrell said.
“All the projects are very exciting,” he said. “I believe all of the projects will be at a level of quality our patrons have come to expect.”
Luttrell also said it’s gratifying to watch the projects progress.
Ballfield
The baseball and softball field under construction behind Festus High should be ready at least by the first softball game on Aug. 17, Luttrell said.
ATG Sports of Festus was awarded a $1,664,300 contract to build the field, but the cost has risen since then.
“We hit a little more rock than expected,” Luttrell said. “We’re right around $1.7 million now.”
The district is paying for the project out of general operating funds.
The project includes a 100-seat grandstand, as well as common seating areas outside the ballfield fencing.
The Tiger baseball and softball teams use the ballfields at the Larry G. Crites Memorial Park in Festus, but when the new field is complete, the teams will have a place to play on campus, Luttrell said.
Multipurpose room
Brockmiller Construction in Farmington is the contractor for the project to convert the Festus High amphitheater into a multipurpose room.
That project will cost $369,007 and will be paid for with general operating funds, Luttrell said.
Luttrell said the conversion is intended to make better use of the 2,500-square-foot space.
The amphitheater’s tiered seating area was topped off and now has a level floor, and once the project is complete, the Tiger wrestling team and the school’s cheerleading and color guard squads will be able to use the multipurpose room, he said.
Performing Arts Center
The 30,000-square-foot performing arts center with a 750-seat auditorium is being built next to the Festus High School band room that opened in 2019.
Luttrell said the performing arts center will cost about $12,500,000 and will be covered with funds from Proposition F, a 59-cent tax increase district voters approved in April 2019.
Brockmiller Construction also is the contractor on that project and was awarded a $12,377,660 construction contract last year.
While the final cost will exceed that, Luttrell said it won’t be by a significant amount considering the size of the project.
“That’s under 2 percent in change orders from the original estimate,” he said.
Bill Giessing, president of Brockmiller, said the work on the exterior of the performing arts center is nearly finished, so the bulk of the remaining work is inside.
The building will meet all ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) requirements, he said.
“We’re kind of in the home stretch,” Giessing said. “We anticipate all the outside finishing to be done in the next three weeks. By the end of August, the building (exterior) will look complete. We’ll still be busy as bees on the inside.”
Plans call for the center to include a large lobby, dressing rooms, a media room, an elevator, a green room and other amenities, Giessing said.
The center will provide performing arts students with a space that meets their needs better than the gymnasiums around the district where events typically are held.
Wellness center
Luttrell said the district is working with the Archimages architectural firm, which is based in Kirkwood, to develop plans for a proposed 40,000- to 42,000-square-foot “wellness center” to be built on the south side of Festus High.
He said early estimates put its price at about $14 million.
“We’re continuing the design phase,” Luttrell said. “If we are able to approve a contract in March or April 2022 and the contractor can start in April 2022, we hope it would be ready by September of 2023.”
He said the wellness center will offer a place for basketball and wrestling events and a small indoor walking track.
Luttrell said he also hopes the center will provide seating for 2,100 or more, which would allow the district to hold high school graduation there in the case of inclement weather.
The center was one of the projects promised to voters when they approved Proposition F.