New Quaker Valley High School opening pushed back 2 years

The projected opening of a new Quaker Valley High School has been pushed back at least two years while school district officials continue to seek federal and state permits related to its construction.

Administrators had hoped to open the doors of the proposed 167,000-square-foot facility in June 2027, but they now plan to welcome high schoolers there by the start of the 2029-30 school year.

Plans indicate that the school will be constructed on district property that spans Leet Township, Edgeworth and Leetsdale, with the building itself situated within the township. Groundbreaking may take place sometime next year.

Charlie Gauthier, district director of facilities and administrative services, said the district continues to work with the state Department of Environmental Protection and the Army Corps of Engineers to secure the necessary approvals for the development to proceed. Applications to those agencies were sent out months ago.

The district received 40 comments from the Army Corps of Engineers and the project team was able to whittle those concerns down to six in August.

Gianni Floro, board member and operations and facilities committee chair, said some of the comments involved providing information to the agency about the area, historical sites and proposed preservation efforts connected to the project rather than plan adjustments.

“These regulators have predetermined questions that need to be answered,” he said Dec. 1. “They’re going down and checking the boxes.”

Quaker Valley had not received a response from DEP as of press time.

Gauthier blamed the government shutdown for adding to the delays in receiving and addressing comments from those agencies about the district’s land development plans.

“It’s frustrating to have these delays that have caused the project to be pushed back,” Gauthier said.

Floro said the legal back-and-forth during the township’s zoning hearing board process a few years ago also contributed to the overall project delay.

After 11 hearings between June 2021 and February 2022, the board denied the district’s special exemption application for the high school. An Allegheny County Common Pleas judge ruled in the district’s favor, overturning the zoning board’s decision in November 2022.

That decision was appealed by a pair of Quaker Valley residents, but a state appellate court affirmed the lower court’s decision in January 2024.

“It played off into the appeal process, and we had to go to court. And now the project is back on track,” Floro said.

He also mentioned how the timeline may change once the project goes out for bid and other contractors get involved.

“On a project of this size and scope, especially in its location, we have to pay great mind to how we’re doing things, when we’re doing things,” Floro said. “There’s a whole progression that occurs on a construction site from day one of the meetings with the contractors who are going to be doing the work to where our expectations are, site security.”

He said the board remains positive. He thanked Jonathan Kuzma, outgoing school board president and facilities committee vice chair, for his support and vision.

“We’re feeling very good about the project,” Floro said. “It’s a process. We would love to just go build it, but that’s not how you make a facility that’s going to last 100 years.”

More approvals needed

Permits from the DEP and Army Corps of Engineers were among the requirements imposed by the Leet commissioners as part of the township’s approval in October 2024.

Other conditions for the Leet commissioners’ approval included a highway occupancy permit and other approvals from Allegheny County, a developer’s agreement and stormwater agreements with the township, various state approvals, an agreement with the Leet Township Municipal Authority regarding a sewer system, and ensuring a design engineer would oversee construction efforts.

“We keep plugging along and trying to address comments and concerns and get a shovel in the ground as soon as possible,” Gauthier said.

The commissioners also wanted more walkability from the township’s Quaker Heights neighborhood to the school.

Board members unanimously voted Nov. 25 to approve a $266,700 contract amendment with Phillips & Associates to create a sidewalk in compliance with that request.

That project will be funded through a $1 million federal Safe Routes to School Grant that the district received earlier in the project process. The grant comes with a 20% district match.

First major permit

The project’s first major permit is expected to be the highway occupancy permit to realign parts of Camp Meeting Road at what will be the school property’s main entry points.

The school directors voted 7-0 on Nov. 25 to approve an intergovernmental cooperative agreement with Leet and Allegheny County. Board members Kati Doebler and Jessica Webster were absent.

Township and county officials are expected to approve their parts of the agreement this month.

However, the actual construction project is expected to be among the last developments of the site.

District documents indicate the primary access site will be 972 feet with realignment needing full-depth pavement, earthwork and drainage improvements. The secondary site will be 279 feet and will need full-depth shoulder replacement, milling and overlay along Camp Meeting Road, as well as clear sight lines by way of on-site clearing and grading.

Realignment also includes left- and right-turn lanes along Camp Meeting Road into the primary access site and utility relocation work and coordination.

“The main thing is the sight distance there,” Gauthier said. “It’s for safety. The people turning in and out of the school, you need to be able to see traffic coming up or down Camp Meeting Road. … This is probably coming close to last in the project. Getting this permit has nothing to do with our timeline.”

Leet commission president Martin McDaniel said he spoke to special legal counsel Harlan Stone, who has represented the township in high school project matters, and believes it will be approved Dec. 8 (this issue of the Sewickley Herald went to press Dec. 4).

“I don’t know why anyone would oppose it because it’s going to be better,” McDaniel said. “It’s going to make the road more visible, safer. It’s not going to cost the township any money.”

The agreement resolution and more details about the realignment were posted on the district’s website as part of the Nov. 25 meeting agenda.

Installing sediment and erosion protections may be the first part of high school site construction, Gauthier said.

Other project updates

The board also voted Nov. 25 to approve a contract amendment with BSHM Architects to adjust their contract fee and contract expiration date.

Fee adjustment is $222,600, because the current design follows 2018 building codes, and the 2021 building code will take effect at the start of next year.

Work includes a $178,400 amended code update, $12,500 for building design modifications and $16,200 for a BIM model update.

District officials in April hired Pittsburgh-based construction firm PJ Dick to serve as construction manager and take the lead in project development and serve as a district liaison in day-to-day operations.

Gauthier said their work is helping to keep the $105 million project under budget despite delays and rising construction costs.

John K. Taormina, project executive with PJ Dick, deferred comments and questions about the proposed high school to district officials.

Some of the other school districts PJ Dick worked with include Mt. Lebanon, South Park, Upper St. Clair and Chartiers Valley. It also worked with Shady Side Academy and Central Catholic High School.

Floro said the construction manager, architects and other project team members are collaboratively working on other cost-saving measures for project implementation and interior design.

More information about the Quaker Valley project is available on the district’s website under the Blueprint QV section of the “District” tab.