ICSD Receives Excellent Bid Results on New JR / SR High School

April 27, 2012 (Independence, IA) – The West Elementary commons buzzed as people gathered Thursday to witness the opening and consideration of construction bids for the new Jr./Sr. High School project. Since September 2011, the Independence Community School District has been working with HSR Associates on the preliminary construction planning and design of the new facility budgeted for $27.5 million. Final bids were due at 4:00 pm Thursday.

The District received three competitive bids for the project.  Larson Construction from Independence, Iowa submitted the lowest base bid at $20,123,000. Two other general contractors bid on the project. Kraemer Brothers out of Plain, Wisconsin came in at $22,160,000 and Stahl Construction from St. Louis Park, Minnesota bid $23,600,000.

The District and community are very excited about the competitive bid results.  In addition to the base bid amount and one alternative included in the bids, the District wants to remind the community that other costs still need added onto the base bid amounts.  Architect fees and other non‐contract items, such as furniture, certain equipment, sound systems, security cameras, score boards, and low voltage wiring for the facility will be purchased directly by the District because they were not part of the contract.

The District’s $27.5 Million budget includes $1.5 million for contingencies, such as unexpected events like a natural disaster disrupting the site and any unforeseen costs involved with improving the site. “We are extremely excited with the bid results,” said Superintendent Russell Reiter.  “We look forward to moving right into the next phase of the project starting next week”.

The Board of Education has scheduled a special board meeting for Tuesday, May 1st to vote on approval of the low bidder.  An official ground‐breaking ceremony is scheduled for Wednesday May 2nd at the construction site along 20th Avenue. The ceremony will begin at 5:00pm and all community members are encouraged to attend.

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Jenny Yoder, Fusion Forward
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