Horry County Board of Education awards contracts to renovate 2 schools

Horry County Schools is just a few years away from five brand new schools and renovations to two current buildings.

The Board of Education unanimously approved contracts to two local firms Monday for additions and renovations to Midland Elementary and North Myrtle Beach Middle schools. The total cost of the renovations – which includes new classrooms and a new kitchen – is about $18.5 million, according to Chief Financial Officer John Gardner.

“It’s much needed,” said board member Holly Heniford, who represents part of North Myrtle Beach. “It’ll be like a whole new school.”

The district approved a capital projects plan in September 2013 – which went through several revisions – and a call for design services was issued for renovations and additions to the two schools. The schools were bid via an Integrated Project Delivery method, which allows collaboration between architects, construction companies and the district to reduce waste and increase efficiency.

Nine firms responded to the call for designs and a selection committee short listed six firms in November. Pike McFarland Hall Associates, Inc. and D3G Architects, LLC were the two highest-ranked firms.

Board members authorized negotiations with both firms in December, and contracts were awarded Monday.

Midland Elementary is getting an additional 40,000 square feet that includes a new kitchen, cafeteria and some new classrooms. North Myrtle Beach Middle is adding more classrooms, Wolfe said.

“It’ll give the school another 25 years of life,” Heniford said of the additions. “It’s just a great way to improve the area, and we’re so excited.”

Pike McFarland Hall Associates, Inc. is contracted to renovate Midland Elementary School at a nonrecurring cost of about $11 million, according to documents from the district. The firm is based in Myrtle Beach and has built several schools for the district, including South Conway and North Myrtle Beach elementary schools.

D3G Architects LLC. is contracted to renovate North Myrtle Beach Middle School at a nonrecurring cost of about $7.5 million, according to documents. D3G Architects is also based in Myrtle Beach and has worked with the district before, Wolfe said.

The additions and renovations to Midland Elementary and North Myrtle Beach Middle are part of an 11-year, $541.3 million capital building plan. The district is in contracts with First Floor Energy Positive – an architecture firm based out of Raleigh, N.C. – to build five new high-performance, energy-positive schools for a total of $240.3 million.

The contract for five new schools is $72.9 million over the initial budget, but the district does not expect to have to raise taxes to pay for them.

All capital building plan projects will be funded through a combination of general obligation bonds, equipment lease financing and sales tax funds, Gardner said.

This story was originally published January 25, 2016 at 7:54 PM with the headline "Horry County Board of Education awards contracts to renovate 2 schools."