EASTON, Pa. — Developers of the planned multimillion-dollar Easton Area High School on Tuesday gave the district Board of Education an update on details on the building’s layout, site, cost and more.
Alloy 5 Senior Project Manager Jamie Bortz and Principal Architect Randy Galiotto joined CHA Senior Business Development Leader Arif Fazil to talk updates on the massive new school and take commentary from the school board.
With a litany of new details, schematics and more, board members largely appeared pleased with the changes, but work remains before the project is good to go.
"Bottom line, construction, you can ask anybody, there's never a cheaper time to do it than now. Postpone something, it just becomes more expensive."CHA Senior Business Development Leader Arif Fazil
And with the uncertainty of tariffs and inflation, it's imperative that developers need to finalize the matter as soon as possible, the board was told.
Bortz detailed the justification for the site on the grounds, stating the area secured at the last board meeting — the corner baseball field closest to the current high school — would be an optimal spot to build on while keeping the current high school in operation.
“We're looking at certain things to achieve with this, which would be to reduce the parking travel distance for the students and staff, to reduce the internal travel distance within the school itself, and try to be more efficient with the layout, and reduce the square footage of the building, therefore reducing the cost,” Bortz said.
Refined designs
Overall, the proposed building would measure 457,020 square feet, with 311,977 net square footage, adding more than 71,000 net square feet.
At the heart of the structure would be an irregular quadrilateral courtyard — taking some inspiration from Easton’s Centre Square.
The stretch woild be dedicated to academics, and larger attached structures for athletics and performing arts at the opposite ends of the main entrance.
The auditorium would be able to fit 1,000 students, and the main gymnasium about 3,000.
Included in the plans were new turf for the varsity baseball field, a new grass practice space, a varsity turf softball field, new tennis and practice fields.
Also, a band practice area near the band room and auditorium, along with a new access road around the track.
“The only other thing I’ll add, so some good news to talk about here: One is we don’t need to do a traffic study," Fazil said. The traffic already exists, we’re not really changing too much from the traffic flow.”
Fazil said an internal traffic review will be conducted to optimize traffic patterns on the site.
Fazil also pointed out that the building’s second floor would be the “main level,” primarily accessed from the rear, with access to the first and third floor.
That lets designers compact the building footprint for cost savings and a reduced footprint.
Comparing with the current high school, the proposed plan trims service areas and splits them between academic and community spaces as common areas.
Timelines and future challenges
The team confirmed that phase one of the project, running from May 2027 to May 2028, will include building the rear construction access and staging area.
Also, demolition of the natatorium and tennis courts, construction of the turf and grass baseball fields, demolition of the varsity baseball field and initial stormwater management construction.
Phase two, which would run from May 2028 to August 2030, would entail construction of the high school while keeping the existing high school and remainder of the site open.
Phase three, running from early 2030 through July 2031, would include early demolition of the existing athletic wing, final demolition of the old high school and site work surrounding the new high school and along William Penn.
All told, the project will cost $298 million, with about $230 million allocated to hard construction costs; $48 million for fees, permits, inspections, construction contingencies and more; and $20 million set aside for inflation.
The team said it will have to keep tabs on inflation, the completion of earthwork and geotechnical investigations, and tariffs.
“We are continuing to look at the tariff uncertainty," Fazil said. "Every one of our clients asks me about that against the current schedule.
"Bottom line, construction, you can ask anybody, there's never a cheaper time to do it than now. Postpone something, it just becomes more expensive."
Labor costs, along with domestically sourced materials, will not have as large an impact, he said.
Fazil emphasized to the board that while the project has a lengthy timeline, it is imperative for the board to submit any comments or changes by August.
That's when the board is set to vote on the schematic design and the Planning and Construction Workbook.
Superintendent Tracy Piazza suggested removing nine classrooms from the tail end of the academic wing.
That would slightly reduce the total capacity of the building, but allow for at least some growth over the current student population.
Board President Judi Hess requested a meeting to be held in June to begin looking into some of the outstanding details on the project. No date has been set.
