Bellefonte Area School District Awards Contracts for New Elementary School Construction Project

Originally published by Bellefonte Area School District

Bellefonte Area School District (BASD) is proud to announce it held a successful bid day on May 7th and awarded contracts on May 15th for construction of a new 98,000-square-foot, kindergarten through 5th grade elementary school.


BASD hired SitelogIQ (SIQ) in June 2022 as the Construction Manager and began the process to determine if constructing a new elementary school on district-owned land was feasible and fiscally responsible. Through extensive studies, due diligence, and leadership of Administrators and the Board of Directors, the District elected to move forward with this long-awaited and much needed project. The new school will replace Bellefonte Elementary, which required repairs and substantial upkeep to remain functional for students and staff.

With guidance from SIQ, BASD selected KCBA Architects to provide educational specifications and programming for a new building to develop a preliminary budget and schedule. A contract was also awarded to Herbert, Rowland, & Grubic, Inc. (HRG) to provide civil engineering, geotechnical engineering, and traffic engineering services.

The project bid day resulted in a cost of $47.8 million for the construction, including alternates, which came in under the Design Development Estimate of $48.6M. The total project budget, including all soft costs, will total $55.3M.

Design of the new School included collaboration with stakeholders and the Elementary Program teachers and staff via several public presentations and interaction sessions. The design also included development of the Educational Specifications for the Elementary Education Program in furtherance of its mission to prepare today’s learners to embrace tomorrow’s challenges.  

With this more modern and up-to-date learning environment, the school can house up to 750 students and will include:

  • Flexible indoor and outdoor learning spaces, including a courtyard
  • Additional classrooms and dedicate spaces for the entire student body
  • Emotional support rooms
  • Life skills rooms
  • Media center
  • Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) lab
  • Musical area with instrument storage
  • Multi-purpose room with a stage
  • Enhanced security system with cameras located throughout the building

The new elementary school will be close to the District’s high school facility. Construction is slated to begin at the end of May 2024, with details of a groundbreaking ceremony to be shared soon.