SAN BENITO — The coronavirus pandemic has impacted the school district’s biggest project in decades but it remains on track, the project manager said Tuesday.
While the pandemic has spiked material costs, the $40 million project is coming in under budget, said Joseph Palacios, president of the Brighton Group, the project manager.
“That’s really had an impact on this process,” he said, referring to the pandemic that hit in early 2020, after the district broke ground on the project in August 2019.
“There was no delay,” he said. “There was no stall in this project.”
Now, the school district’s new majority is launching a forensic audit expected to review the project funded through a $40 million bond issue 54 percent of voters passed in 2018 before the past board hired Palacios.
As part of the contract, the district paid the Brighton Group, with offices in Edinburg, $1.25 million to oversee the project aimed at building the district’s first performing arts theater, aquatics center and indoor practice field.
“It’s very politicized right now,” Palacios, a former Hidalgo County commissioner, said, adding he presents the school board with monthly project updates.
“There are so many successes to his project,” he said. “The facilities are more enhanced. The district has done its due diligence to maximize their dollars.”
Palacios said the purchase of “alternative” materials has saved about $4 million.
“The challenge we had was to make sure we met the budget,” he said. “There has been an active effort in making sure we maximize the budget to cover cost overruns on materials’ escalation prices due to COVID.”
Palacios said the pandemic led to “skyrocketing” prices on materials such as steel, aluminum, softwood millwork and air conditioning and heating equipment.
“They weren’t manufacturing it, demand was high, which forced prices up,” he said. “We went through a few months.”
In-door practice field
By April, Austin-based Hellas Construction, specializing in sports facilities, had completed construction of the $5.6 million, 60,000-square-foot in-door practice field at Bobby Morrow Stadium.
As part of the project, which came in under the district’s $7.4 million estimated cost, the Brighton Group extended the practice field from the proposed 60 feet to 90 feet while expanding the weight room from 6,000 to 10,000 square-feet, Palacios said.
Performing arts theater
Across a 40-acre stretch of farmland off Interstate 69, crews continue to lay the foundation, including GEO piers and utility lines, for the construction of the performing arts theater and aquatics center.
Palacios said ROFA Architects in McAllen have turned over design documents to Davila Construction, the San Antonio-based contractor.
Now, he’s estimating an 18-month construction timetable.
The $22 million, 68,747 square-foot performing arts theater, whose cost the district had estimated at $20 million to $22 million, will feature a 1,000-seat auditorium, a 5,200-square-foot grand lobby, two 3,033-square-foot multi-purpose rooms and a balcony, Palacios said.
“It’s a robust building set to have multiple programs,” he said. “It’s a state-of-the-art stage capable of handling all types of programs.”
Aquatics center
Nearby, Davila Construction’s building an $8.5 million, 22,000-square-foot aquatics center featuring two swimming pools, a lobby, looker rooms and restrooms, Palacios said, adding the district had estimated costs ranging from $5 million to $6 million.
The project will feature a 75-foot by 60-foot, eight-lane competition swimming pool which Myrtha Pools will manufacture using steel, PVC and ceramic to create a “durable and sustainable pool shell,” Palacios said, adding it will become South Texas’ first Myrtha pool.
“It’s a major highlight,” he said.
Meanwhile, the aquatics center will also feature a 52-foot by 34-foot “warm-up pool,” he said.
