The Fox C-6 School District has a new architect firm to oversee most of its future capital improvement projects.
Board of Education members voted unanimously Feb. 2 to hire William B. Ittner Inc. to provide architectural services for six projects to be funded with revenue from the $40 million Prop P bond issue voters approved in June.
Board members also voted unanimously to have Ittner oversee roofing and HVAC projects at Seckman High School and Fox Elementary School, which are expected to be completed this summer. Those projects will be paid for during the 2021-2022 budget year.
Ittner also will design and help manage renovation projects at Fox High School and other improvements at the Fox campus located off Jeffco Boulevard in Arnold, as well as work at the Seckman campus, off Seckman Road in Imperial.
Other projects the company will oversee include upgrades to building entrances districtwide, pavement repairs around the district, renovations to the district’s elementary school playgrounds and installation of flooring at Lone Dell and Rockport elementary schools.
Building Resource Studio (BRS), an architect firm Fox has been working with since 2017, will continue to oversee renovations at Antonia and Meramec Heights elementary schools with money generated from Prop P.
“My hope is this is done in a timely, cost effective manner with a partnership based on trust and collaboration,” Superintendent Nisha Patel said of hiring Ittner to oversee Prop P and other capital improvement projects.
Ittner was one of 15 firms to submit a proposal after the ‘;= board agreed in October to send out a request for qualifications for the architecture work and construction oversight on Oct. 20, 2020.
Board members interviewed Ittner, KRJ, Arch Images and TR,i Architects in a Dec. 5 closed meeting, and voted unanimously to authorize the district to negotiate a contract with Ittner.
“What stuck out to me was they were the only firm that came up with a design concept,” board President Vicki Hanson said of how Ittner handled its December presentation.” They didn’t just talk about their company; they had a design concept and shared it with us during their presentation. That showed a pretty good grasp of what they could do and knowledge for what we are looking for.”
On Feb. 2, board members voted 7-0 to enter a contract that will pay Ittner 6 percent of the construction costs for work at the Fox campus, 6 percent of the construction cost at the Seckman camps and 5.25 percent of the construction cost to upgrade entrance security. Ittner is not charging Fox to oversee the pavement, playground and flooring projects.
Fox Chief Financial Office John Stewart said the district is projected to pay Ittner about $1.2 million for its work on the Prop P projects.
“The rates were comparable to the other firms,” Hanson said. “They also are not going to charge us for some of the projects. They said they can help us a little, but they will not need to charge us.”
Board members also voted in October to approve a contract with BRS to handle the architecture work and construction oversight for the additions at Antonia and Meramec Heights elementary schools and other budgeted capital improvement projects for the rest of the 2020-2021 school year.
Fox is projected to pay BRS $367,500 for the Antonia Elementary project and $472,500 for the Meramec Heights Elementary project, Stewart said.
Also on Feb. 2, board members voted unanimously to pay BRS $70,230.87 for its preliminary work on the projects Ittner will now oversee. Ittner will be able to use those plans to continue to move the Prop P projects forward, Stewart said.
“I think we will see final designs for the first projects sometime in the fall or late 2021, which would allow for board approval of bids and contracts in early 2022,” Stewart said.
Fox has worked with Ittner on multiple past construction projects. The St. Louis firm designed Seckman High School and oversaw renovation projects at Fox High School in 1995. The next year, the firm designed Guffey Elementary School, and in 1997, it handled architectural duties for more renovations at Fox High.
The firm also handled the 2003 Fox High project that added a hall at the front of the school linking the three wings. That project also included cafeteria renovations and the creation of the school’s commons area, Stewart said.
“They have always been able to find a way when construction is going on to minimize the impact if anything has to be done while the kids are there,” Hanson said.
Ittner representatives provided preliminary concepts for renovations at Fox High that would add a new wing to house some science, art and family and consumer sciences classrooms, along with a storm shelter that would be built between Fox High and Fox Middle schools.
The firm also said it could create a secure outdoor area, which it referred to as Fox Plaza, by moving classrooms in Fox High’s middle wing into to the new addition and eliminating the center section of the school.