2020 Top 3 Stories-#2 Construction of the new school – Pipestone County Star

By Kyle Kuphal | on December 31, 2020

A crane lowers a precast section of wall into place for the new weight/fitness room at Pipestone Area Schools Middle and High School on Monday, Dec. 28. K. Kuphal

Another story we reported on quite a bit in 2020 was the construction of Pipestone Area Schools (PAS) new elementary school and remodeling of portions of the existing middle and high school.Signs of the pending construction began in March when a perimeter fence was erected around the area where the new school would be built on the north side of the existing middle and high school. Construction officially began April 6. During the first month, workers put in footings for the new structure and installed drainage pipes in the ground.The project was off to a good start due to favorable weather and the fact that students were not in school because they were distance learning as a result of the pandemic. Superintendent Kevin Enerson told the school board in April that the project was about two weeks ahead of schedule. He said the school closure for the remainder of the year would allow workers to begin remodeling work on the inside of the building in May.By June, the project had taken a vertical turn. Tyler Kaczmarek, project manager with construction management firm Kraus-Anderson, explained that the two block structures that had taken form in recent weeks were stair shafts that would be located at the end of the two wings of the new elementary building.By July, structural steel framing was being put up, revealing the skeleton of the new building. The precast walls for the gymnasium were put up and the installation of foam sheathing had begun by the end of July.In August, PAS School Board members approved building a new larger weight/fitness room and expanding the wrestling room into the existing weight room at the middle and high school for an additional cost of $1,028,386. The project had been considered as part of the construction of the new elementary school and remodel of portions of the middle and high school, but was ruled out in the initial plans to keep costs down. The bond sale and bids for the new elementary and remodeling projects came in more favorable than originally anticipated, however, which allowed the school board to add it back in.This is one of those things that we said, well it doesnt fit in our numbers, so we left it off, but now the numbers have kind of come back and it looks like we can make it work, Enerson said.By the time school started in late August, the remodeling of the middle and high school office was completed and visitors had to use a new entrance that brought them into the office area. Once inside, visitors now have to scan their license or identification in a new visitor management system.It does a low end background check, said Josh Stukel, technology coordinator at the school.The old circle drive had also been replaced with a new parking area and drop-off area by the start of the new school year.By early September, the structural steel work was complete, much of the exterior sheathing was complete and brick work had begun on the west side of the new building.As the weather turned colder, workers sealed up the exterior envelope of the building. Some of the gray and green steel panels had been installed on the outside of the building, providing more of a glimpse of what the final product will look like.Inside, in-wall electrical and plumbing work, and heating, ventilation and air conditioning work was being done. Classrooms and other interior spaces began to take shape with the installation of sheet rock starting in November.Work on the new weight/fitness room was progressing with footings and the foundation installed and underground utilities put in. Structural steel and precast walls for the new space were being put up at the end of December.Inside, sheet rock work continued, painting had started in some areas and ceramic tile was being installed in the bathrooms.The project will continue into 2021 and is scheduled to be completed in time for the start of the 2021-22 school year.

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2020 Top 3 Stories-#2 Construction of the new school - Pipestone County Star