Saturday, October 12, 2024

Azle ISD breaks ground at junior high

Posted

AZLE — The Azle Independent School District’s board of trustees approved a guaranteed maximum price for Phase II in the construction of a replacement Azle Junior High campus and new maintenance warehouse.

The board unanimously approved the package with BTC Construction with a GMP of $88,228,670 at a Sept. 16 meeting. A $10,846,031 GMP for the new maintenance warehouse and renovations to the Azle ISD Police Department’s central receiving facility were approved as well. These projects are expected to be finished in the fall of next year and will be located near Forte Junior High and Hoover Elementary.

A BTC representative, Mike Trammell, said this is largest project the company has done with Azle ISD yet. The district and BTC remarked that they expect to be about $3 million under budget which is a welcomed surprise.

Superintendent Todd Smith said he expects to approve the next phase, for improvements and science lab additions at elementary campuses and Forte Junior High, in February. The goal is that these projects can be completed during the summer of 2025.

After Phase II, there will be two phases left in the district’s 2023 bond projects. All new facilities are expected to be online and ready for the school year by August 2026. Removal of the existing junior high building will be in the last phase of construction.