Arrow-right Camera
The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Central Valley district selects builder for project

The Central Valley School District on Monday awarded Leone & Keeble Inc., of Spokane, a $5.4 million contract to rebuild South Pines Elementary School.

Although Leone & Keeble was the lowest among five bidders, the contract amount is about $400,000 more than the district had estimated the project would cost in May. David Huotari of ALSC Architects PS blamed the high bid amounts on the rising cost of building materials such as steel and wood.

“The spread on the bids was tight,” he said. “The three lowest bids were within 2.2 percent of each other, and all five were within 5 percent.”

ALSC designed the renovation project.

The work is expected to begin in August and will take about a year to complete, said project manager David Cooper of Roen Associates.

While South Pines undergoes construction, students will attend classes at the old University High School, which is now called University Center.

The project involves adding 4,300 square feet of floor space to the 45-year-old school at 12021 E. 24th Ave. A multipurpose room, which will serve as the cafeteria, will be built in the center of the school. Community groups will have access to the room and its kitchenette.

The gym will be redesigned, and the stage will move into a music classroom. A 30-year-old annex will be torn down, and classrooms will be added to the ends of both of the school’s wings.

To counteract the rising construction prices, the district shaved about $130,000 of work off the project six weeks ago. Cooper said those changes were minor and that South Pines’ renovation will be equivalent in quality to the work done at McDonald and Adams elementary schools during the 2002-2003 school year.

In 1998, voters approved a $78 million construction bond to build two new high schools, and the district received about $23 million in matching state funds. The high schools cost more than $70 million to build, and the district is using the balance of the funds to remodel South Pines, McDonald and Adams, as well as Greenacres Middle School.

The state contribution to the South Pines project is about $3.3 million.