Quaker Valley School District officials have hired a construction manager for the proposed $105 million high school project.

School directors voted 8-0 to select Pittsburgh-based construction firm PJ Dick to take the lead in project development and serve as a district liaison in day-to-day operations. The company will be paid an estimated cost of $2.48 million.

A formal agreement is pending legal review.

The 167,000-square-foot facility is planned on district property that straddles Leet Township, Edgeworth and Leetsdale, but the school will be in the township.

A construction manager’s tasks include carefully evaluating construction documents and project plans as well as assessing project constructability. They will offer suggestions to architects and engineers, which may include cost-saving measures or strategies to reduce construction time.

Charlie Gauthier, district director of facilities and administrative services, said requests for proposals went out in mid-January and four candidates were interviewed.

“We brought a couple of candidates back for other interviews,” Gauthier said. “Administration and school board facilities committee narrowed it down to PJ Dick and invited PJ Dick in for one final interview with everyone. Their wealth of knowledge of land development (set them apart).”

PJ Dick has been in business since 1979.

The company website states it is one of the largest construction firms in the mid-Atlantic Region.

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.

John Taormina, project executive at PJ Dick, called the project “a great opportunity” and thanked the board for its selection.

“We look forward to working as partners with you folks (and) your design professionals,” he said. “We hope we’ll be delivering a project on time and under budget, naturally and safely. I’ve been with PJ for 33-plus years.

“Yes, this project was something that I knew about for a long time. I know you talked about the need for it. … It’s great to see it now on the cusp of commencing. I couldn’t be more excited to help.”

PJ Dick will oversee all project operations with a focus on the school itself.

Its sister company, Trumbull Corp., specializes in land development.

Trumbull will address, among a host of other things, slope stabilization and electronic hillside monitoring to help remediate risks.

The use of inclinometers — sensors that go into pipes and measure the magnitude of slope, tilt, elevation and possible movement, among other factors — was among the many conditions Leet officials added as part of its land development plan approval back in October.

Trumbull general manager Rich Doyle expressed confidence in tackling any challenges with the site.

Gianni Floro, board member and operations and facilities committee chair, said the new high school is a long-time coming, having seen a need for it at least two decades ago.

“I’m hoping our new guests can sort of shepherd that process through as our construction managers,” Floro said. “I’m really looking forward to working with them.”

District officials said Quaker Valley’s legal team did background checks on all candidates and everyone did their due diligence before making the selection.

“I think they value this project just as much as we do,” Superintendent Tammy Andreyjo said of PJ Dick. “The safety and the constructability that we’ll be working on over the next several months will prove very valuable as we break ground and get ready to move kids in in three years.”

Gauthier said the project timeline is to have it ready for bid in November or December, with the goal of a grand opening for the 2027-28 school year. He anticipates a refined timeline will be prepared sometime after PJ Dick gets to work.

No construction will take place until the district secures permits from the state Department of Environmental Protection, Allegheny County Conservation District and other third-party approvals, as well as a signed developer’s agreement with Leet.

School district officials set the maximum building construction costs for the proposed high school at about $72.1 million and the maximum project cost at $105 million.

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

Related financial news

The board on April 15 approved a resolution changing its bond underwriters for its November 2024 $82.665 million bond for the high school project.

Quaker Valley’s debt will now be serviced by PNC Capital Markets in Pittsburgh and Stifel Nocolaus & Company in Bethel Park.

Board member and finance committee chair Geoff Barnes said they needed to make the change after former underwriter, Janney Montgomery Scott, closed its Pittsburgh office.

It’s unclear how the recent tariff fluctuations and changes to the U.S. Department of Education would impact bonds.

“At this time, we are not actively pursuing any borrowing, as we are still several months away from going out to bid for the project,” district Business Manager Brooke Baker said via email. “We will continue to collaborate with our financial advisors and bond counsel to monitor market conditions and ensure a strategic approach when the time comes.“

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