State High project continues on schedule

As it turns out, an active imagination is one of the key components of any active construction site.

Hardhats, too, are also highly advisable, but they aren’t as much help when it comes envisioning a giant pile of dirt and mud as a bustling courtyard full of students.

Still, if project manager Tim Jones has his way, that’s exactly what it will be.

Jones, of Massaro Construction Management Services LLC, was standing on the ground floor of what will eventually be four of the main educational units that constitute the ongoing State High project.

Behind him was a clear view of what used to be the South Building bus terminal, now a blank canvas onto which the district is hoping to project the future of the State College Area High School.

But sure, a courtyard would look pretty good there too.

In November 2015, the State College Area school board approved $137,705,495 in base construction bids and soft costs for a new high school. Now, the district is 10 months into a four-year construction timetable that is set to conclude in the summer of 2019.

So far, the project is within budget and on schedule, which comes as no small relief as colder weather begins to encroach following a highly productive summer.

“Work won’t slow or change throughout the winter, it will just become more difficult,” said Jones.

What stands there now is the emperor half-dressed, a concrete structure where the rough outlines of classrooms, staircases and administrative offices have been sketched in with great attention to detail.

It’s easy to imagine it fully shaded — a coat of paint and some drywall fleshing out the rough edges.

By nature, a project of this size means benchmarks and the significant one looming just off of the horizon is January 2018. Classes will integrate into the new facility, leaving the North and South buildings ripe for construction and remodeling.

The writing is already on the wall — provided those walls have already been installed, in which case you’re definitely looking for the ground floor.

Follow the right hallway and you’ll be able to find the bare bones of a classroom, unfinished but noteworthy for the two large rectangular windows taking up space on the wall directly across from the door.

“It allows for daylight into the building, which can help reduce the energy costs,” Jones said.

Thematically this sentiment echoes into one of the main hallways linking each unit, a stretch of open space that will eventually be closed from floor to ceiling with glass to provide a better view of the courtyard.

Follow that hallway closer to what will eventually be the building’s main entrance and you’ll encounter a suite of administrative offices or the main stairwell leading up to a first floor that is still in the fledgling stages of existence.

A second and third floor will eventually follow, but it’s best not to ascend a flight of stairs that isn’t there yet, not when the ground floor still has more to offer.

The CTC wing will harbor students studying woodworking, building technology and auto mechanics — and this time they’ll have room to stretch.

“Our CTC programs were kind of shoehorned into a lot of older spaces,” Ed Poprik, SCASD director of physical plant, said.

That auto space alone is a yodeler’s dream, with storage space and floor drains all ripe for the taking.

It’s just enough to make the imagination run wild.

This story was originally published October 3, 2016 at 7:56 PM with the headline "State High project continues on schedule."