A soaring angled roof above a glass-facade entrance with grace notes of two other angled roof lines, echoing the backdrop of Blue Mountain, will greet students in three years when the new Lehigh Elementary School opens.

The design phase of the school project is expected to be completed in December, according to Michael Kelly, AIA, LEED and principal at KCBA Architects, and Jamie Bortz, design professional at KCBA, during their PowerPoint presentation at the Aug. 27 Northampton Area School District Board of Education meeting.

“It’s a beautiful site,” Kelly said, regarding the location for the school, which is along Blue Mountain Drive, Lehigh Township.

School directors voted 9-0 to approve, on recommendation of the NASD administration, advertising an Act 34 hearing for public input on the Lehigh Elementary School project, starting 5:30 p.m. Oct. 8, before the 6:30 p.m. board meeting, in the Northampton Area High School cafeteria.

The board’s vote included a resolution to authorize a maximum project cost for the new school of $35,788,356 and a maximum building construction cost of $25,535,000.

Act 34 requires a 20-day period of advertising before the public hearing. A vote on accepting the plan presented at the hearing is expected to be on the agenda of the 6:30 p.m. Nov. 12 NASD school board meeting.

The Lehigh Elementary School project bid phase is January-February 2019. The construction phase is March 2019-June 2021.

The construction site of the new school, to be built to the right of the existing school, will be separated by a “big red fence,” Kelly said, from the school, which will continue to be in use.

Demolition of Lehigh Elementary School is to commence in June 2021. Reconfiguration of the site is to be completed by June 2022.

The Northampton Area School District/Lehigh Elementary School preliminary-final land consolidation plan goes before the Lehigh Township Planning Commission Sept. 5.

“The district was able to expand the existing site by buying two properties and squaring off the site,” Kelly said.

The new school is to be constructed in the area of the purchased properties.

The Lehigh Elementary School/Northampton Area School District special exception-variance request goes before the township’s zoning hearing board Sept. 13. This is also the result of adding the adjacent properties.

The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation must approve access and egress of driveways for the new school. A loop road will separate bus traffic from parents’ vehicles and the staff. A new 215-space parking lot will double the size of the existing lot.

The first-floor plan includes community, administration and education areas concentrated toward the front of the building. Also in proximity will be classrooms for art and music and the gym.

“That was one of the core concepts of the building,” Kelly said.

The library is at the top of the stairs on the building’s second floor.

An outside, gated grassy courtyard will allow for student activities. The playground will be outside of the cafeteria.

School Director Ross Makary asked about placement of air-conditioning chillers and possible noise affecting events held in the gym.

“It’s outside the building. We’ll have the proper acoustics. They won’t hear it,” Bortz said.

School Director Robert Mentzell asked about the number of classrooms. There will be 28 classrooms for the general student population and six for special education.

Mentzell asked if there will be flexible seating in the library. Bortz said there would be.

Mentzell asked about the choice of classroom tables and chairs.

“We’re going to have that discussion,” Bortz said.

School board President David Gogel asked about stormwater management. Bortz explained it will be an underground system, which will avoid an open retention pond that could attract mosquitoes.

The existing well that provides water for the school, as well as the existing septic field, will be used.

The new school will be approximately 97,000 square feet, compared to 88,000 square feet for the old school. The kindergarten through fifth-grade student capacity is 800 in the new school compared to 510 in the old school.

Twice-monthly meetings between KCBA, D’Huy Engineering Inc. and NASD officials began in April.

“This process started about two years ago when the board approved the capital plan,” NASD Superintendent of Schools Joseph S. Kovalchik said. “When we do buildings, it’s a total collaborative effort.”

In a separate non- agenda matter, Kovalchik informed the board the district’s intent to allow JW Development Partners (Jaindl-Watson) an easement for relocation of Seemsville Road as part of a warehouse project is consistent with the intended educational use of the land, according to the Pennsylvania Governor’s Office of General Counsel.

NASD school board Solicitor C. Steven Miller had requested the state review the easement for the district-owned 92-acre tract, a possible site for NASD school buildings.

Kovalchik said opening day, Aug. 27, of the NASD 2018-19 school year went well.

“I’d like to thank the parents, students, teachers, administration, custodians and staff for the first day of school. It was a very hot day. We’re off and running,” he said.