The Parkland School District board and administration have taken action to move the high school renovation and construction project forward with advertisement for bids on the steel portion of the building venture.

At the Aug. 19 meeting, Rob Avitabile, executive project manager for Alvin H. Butz, Inc., said the steel bids should be put out right away due to a longer lead time.

Cut off date for the steel bids is Sept. 30.

The remainder of the bid package will be offered later in the fall.

The high school proposal calls for an increase from the present 493,782 square feet to 578,696 square feet.

New space will include 28 general classrooms, 11 science labs, two learning support classes, two engineering labs, one robotics lab, one art lab and drawing room expansion, one food lab, a tutoring lab and eight small group instruction rooms.

Estimated cost of the project is $68,218,013.

The design team has included an option to renovate the library media center at a cost of $2,466,544. “This would make the library more inviting,” Jamie Bortz, Alloy 5 architectural firm said.

The lighting would be upgraded and utility closets relocated.

If the library media refresh is undertaken, the anticipated total project budget rises to $70,684,557.

The timetable specifies groundbreaking in March 2026 and completion in December 2027.

Avitabile said Alvin H. Butz, Inc. would like to get their operations trailer set up on the site before the targeted groundbreaking ceremony.

“If the winter is mild, we want to get started,” Avitabile said.