Allegheny Valley to spend $500k for high school facade repairs

The Allegheny Valley School Board will pay a masonry firm more than $500,000 to repair a problem with the facade at the rear of Springdale Jr.-Sr. High School.

In a unanimous vote, the school board awarded a $513,000 contract to Mt. Pleasant-based Arch Masonry on Tuesday for repairs to the exterior of the high school’s “D” wing.

The repairs will address the separation of large precast concrete façade panels there. They were installed as part of an $18.7 million construction project finished in 2012.

Board President Nino Pollino said brick and mortar will be used for the repairs. He said the board considered seeking restitution for the 2012 work, but the statute of limitations has long since passed.

Other contractors expressed interest in the work but ultimately failed to offer bids, according to Doug Zaenger, vice president of Foreman Architects Engineers. The school board retained Zaenger’s firm to develop plans for a larger $3.1 million project at the school.

The other half of that project involves interior work near the auditorium, which would expand bathroom capacity and add a single-use restroom.

Bids for that work, according to Pollino, will be reviewed at next week’s school board meeting.

Pollino said he hopes the exterior work at the high school will be mostly finished by fall.