BIDS FOR NEW HIGH SCHOOL WELL BELOW ESTIMATE

Architects and school officials for the Cape Girardeau School District could not contain their smiles Thursday after bids to build a new high school came in well under cost estimates.

Three general contractors bid on the project, and all were below the $19.6 million base bid architects projected. Submitting bids for the project were Kiefner Brothers Construction of Cape Girardeau, with a base bid of $16,919,000; Penzel Construction of Jackson, with a base bid of $16,825,000; and Rentenbach Construction of Memphis, Tenn., with a base bid of $18,800,000.

"We got some great bids," said Dr. Dan Steska, school district superintendent. "To come in that low well, I'm extremely pleased. We'll have to do some consulting to decide what additional projects, if any, we'll want to complete, but I'm very happy with the way this has turned out."

Dennis Young of William B. Ittner Inc., an architectural firm in St. Louis, said architects from his company and school officials will meet with representatives from Penzel and Kiefner Brothers next week to discuss the details of their bids. They also will discuss equipment and supplies contractors plan to use in building the school, and the alternative bids that were submitted for an additional 148-car parking lot, eight-lane asphalt track, asphalt tennis courts, and unlit, but finished, baseball and softball fields.

Ittner will present a recommendation to the Board of Education next week after conducting reference checks for the contractors and all of the subcontractors they plan to use.

Low bids close

"Because there are two contractors that are so close together on bids, we'll probably be talking with both of them to see what the details of their bids are," said Young. "We couldn't be more pleased with this. Everything from day one has been going just as planned."

The design of the high school was inspired by the architectural award-winning Triad High School in Troy, Ill., which also was designed by Ittner. The design features tear-out interior walls to allow future expansions and a central library grotto overlooked by the second floor. Areas like an auditorium, football stadium and additional classrooms will be planned for, but they were not included in the original bids.

Based on the bids, architects said construction costs for the 201,442-square-foot building and an 800-square-foot parking lot will be about $91 a square foot. The figure compares favorably to the $94-a-square-foot cost to build the Cape Girardeau Career and Technology Center, which is near completion on property adjacent to where the new high school will be built on a site near Interstate 55 in southern Cape Girardeau.

Construction costs were about $95 a square foot for similarly sized projects completed in recent years in the St. Louis area. National averages in the same period were $106 a square foot.

Voters approved a bond issue last year that is expected to provide the district as much as $25 million for the new facility. Although construction estimates are well below that level so far, they don't include practical costs for furniture, telephone or alarm systems, or even pencil sharpeners.

"It's always nice to come in under the estimate, but make no mistake, there is no extra money," said Central High School Principal Randie Fidler. "This just makes us breathe a little easier."