The Reading School District, the 4th largest school district in PA with over 17,000 students, contracted with K&KA in spring of 2011 to prepare a detailed District Wide Facility Study. The study addressed 25 academic and 6 support facilities encompassing a gross building area of 3-million square feet and a campus area of 163 acres spread throughout the city.

The investigative survey and report evaluated: site conditions; building envelopes, building structure, classrooms, and furniture conditions; light quality; universal accessibility and code compliance; mechanical, electrical, and plumbing systems; educational programs and special education accommodations; administrative offices, health, and nutrition conditions; and the potential for proposed additions to meet projected population growth. Information provided by the study ultimately led to three concurrent projects focused on renovations to four middle schools and the high school, Southern Middle School being one of them.

The constructed scope of work incorporated: exterior masonry restoration, roofing, window and door replacement, stair tower renovations, security, and mechanical, electrical, and plumbing renovations. Work at the High School focused on replacing 5 hot water boilers and 2 steam boilers and providing fire alarm upgrades. Due to the scale of the District and bonding limitations, the District Wide Facility Study (DWFS) was crafted to prioritize life safety and maintenance concerns and identify remedial efforts that qualified as immediate need or emergency repair. Priority renovations were identified for 10 elementary schools, 4 middle schools, and the high school with an estimated construction value totaling $83M. When bids were received in December of 2013, the school board was restructured and available funding for construction was reduced to $37M. K&KA anticipated the eventuality of a potentially diminished budget, and crafted bid documentation to be flexible.

Two separate projects, Group ‘A’ – the High School, Southern and Southwest Middle Schools – and Group ‘B’ – Northeast and Northwest Middle Schools – utilized predominantly the same prime contractors over an 18 month construction period. During this time, the District added a third component, the renovation of the JROTC physical activities center, also known as the “Red Gym.” Though the work was bid separately, the same prime contractors won the contracts and the work was completed as one large project over 5 sites.

All five schools embody historically significant contexts; therefore, retaining the historic fabric of the architecture was paramount. The large construction project was completed on-time and $1.7M under budget. Adding to the challenges inherent to this type of multi-site project, the effort required repeated presentations to, and approval from, 5 different superintendents and 2 school board personnel changes over a 5 year period.