Construction is scheduled to start in July on a $6.8 million field house at Northwest High School in Cedar Hill.
The Northwest R-1 Board of Education agreed May 16 to spend $5.1 million on the construction of the field house addition. At its March 28 special meeting, the school board approved spending $1 million for the electrical system and exterior panels at the field house. The rest of the $6.8 million cost is for architect fees, surveys, permits, insurance, construction management fees and furniture and equipment.
The project is being funded with revenue from a $28 million bond issue district voters approved in April 2023.
Construction of the field house is expected to be completed in July 2025, said Mark Janiesch, chief operating officer for the district.
Also on May 16, the board agreed to spend capital improvement funds for a new cooling system and asphalt improvements at the high school.
The board also voted May 16 to spend bond issue revenue for stormwater improvements at Murphy Elementary School in High Ridge.
Field house
The 15,900-square-foot, two-story field house will be an addition to the school’s gymnasium. The upper level will have padded walls suitable for the school’s wrestling program and a small gymnasium for athletic training and practice. The lower level will be equipped for weight lifting and strength training and will have a locker area.
“First and foremost, this addition will be a storm shelter, which goes along with the whole bond issue theme of safety and security,” Janiesch said. “Every student will have accessibility to use the field house as a storm shelter if the occasion arises.
“Virtually all of the students will likely utilize the new field house at one time or another whether it be through athletics, personal fitness or physical education classes.”
The high school was built in 1997. It currently enrolls about 1,800 students. Although the gymnasium does not have air conditioning or storm shelter provisions, the new field house will have both.
“We did research and ensured that we would not inhibit the future ability to air-condition the high school gym with the field house going into place, and it is the first thing on the list to get done for any potential future bond issues,” Janiesch said.
Last year, the board hired S.M. Wilson & Co. of St. Louis to be the construction manager for the bond issue projects. The company will be paid $1.24 million to oversee the improvement projects and $21,000 for preconstruction services. S.M. Wilson also receives 3.25 percent of subcontractor fees.
The district is paying S.M. Wilson $582,416 to manage the field house project and $191,170 as part of the 3.25 percent of subcontractors’ fees.
Other high school projects
The capital improvement projects at the high school are overdue, according to district officials.
“The ‘new’ high school is obviously not so new anymore,” Janiesch said. “We are already compiling lists of projects for any potential bond issue in the future.”
The board awarded $1.12 million to Midwest Machinery of Chesterfield to upgrade the cooling system at the 336,040-square-foot building.
The project is planned for late fall when the air-conditioning will not be in use, said facility director Kasey Schaffer.
“The fluid coolers are responsible for all the HVAC in the building,” Schaffer said. “Heat pumps cool our classrooms, and these cooling towers dissipate the heat. Northwest has been a very good steward making these last nearly 30 years as the life expectancy is 15 to 20 years.”
The board awarded an $85,040 contract to Byrne & Jones Construction of Bridgeton for asphalt improvements. The work is expected to be completed in July. It will cost $32,690 to improve the emergency access roads and $52,350 to repave around the stadium.
“Asphalt improvements have been needed for a while, as we have evaluated them and the timing to use the remaining capital improvement funds for this budget cycle seemed to align to get that job completed over the summer,” Janiesch said.
The improvements to the emergency access roads affect three areas that total 818.12 square yards, Schaffer said.
“We are widening the lane by the cafeteria patio and improving the access road by the school’s gray and red halls. These are the original access lanes for emergency vehicles from nearly 30 years ago when the school was built. Although they are not driven on often, they are aged and fatigued,” he said.
The 1,513-square-yard area around the stadium will be removed and repaved, Schaffer said.
“This is in front of the stadium and adjacent to the bleachers,” he said. “The pavement is cracking and starting to fall apart. We would like to fix it before it becomes a tripping hazard.”
Murphy Elementary project
The school board allocated $391,401 in bond issue funding to improve stormwater drainage at Murphy Elementary School. The school was built in 1957. It enrolls about 430 students. Additions were added to the school in 1961, 1966 and 1967, and a new gymnasium was built in 2015, district officials said.
“Ever since the gymnasium was built, the storm drainage issues have worsened. There are many acres of ground that drain above Murphy Elementary and flow to Saline Creek below. After the gymnasium was built, it did not allow stormwater to flow as it once did. The stormwater pipes simply could not keep up with the volume of water going through them,” Janiesch said.
“This would result in water coming under the doors through the hallways and into classrooms in extreme storm conditions. This has only happened a few times. However, when it does happen, it is very disruptive and can damage furniture in the classrooms.”
The board approved paying a total of $293,300 to three subcontractors. The remaining cost includes surveys, permits, insurance and a construction management fee of $19,362 to S.M. Wilson, plus $12,197 as part of the 3.25 percent fee of the subcontractor awards.