Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: MONDAY, October 2, 1995 TAG: 9510020082
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: JOEL TURNER STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Roanoke County school officials had hoped construction could begin this fall and be finished by next fall, but the projected dates have been pushed back several months.
Plans for the gym won't be finished until late this year, according to Homer Duff, director of facilities and operations.
The gym will take a year to build. If construction can begin by January, it should be ready by early 1997, Duff said Tuesday.
The grading and site work are expected to begin by late October or November, before the construction plans are completed, he said.
Motley & Associates, the architects, are refining the gymnasium plans. But it is still uncertain whether bids on the project will be within the $3.3 million budget.
When school officials began planning the project two or three years ago, the cost estimate seemed accurate. But construction costs for school gyms have increased 30 percent in 18 months.
Duff said the architects are working on a plan that calls for the gym to have 2,100 to 2,200 seats, depending on the final drawings.
Seating has been an issue because some Northside fans wanted a gym that would hold 3,000 to 4,000 spectators.
Northside's current gym seats about 1,000. But more than 2,000 fans have attended some of the school's basketball games at Salem High School and Roanoke College. Attendance has risen sharply with the team's success in recent years.
Architects say, however, that the $3.3 million budget will not pay for a 3,000- to 4,000-seat gym. In fact, they say, a 2,100- to 2,200-seat gym might cost close to $5 million.
Besides the gym, the project includes construction of a 350-seat auditorium and four classrooms at Northside Middle School. The gym will be used by the high school, but it will be at the nearby middle school.
The architects are designing the project with options, so different parts can be deleted, depending on the bids.
``We will bid the whole package, but it will be designed so if we have to back out some components, we can do that,'' Duff said.
School officials have said that the gym will have priority if funds are short.
They have discussed asking the county Board of Supervisors for additional money for the project, but have decided to wait until they receive the bids.
Until the bids are opened, school officials won't know how much, if any, additional money might be needed for the project, School Board member Frank Thomas said.
by CNB