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C A S E ST U DY: S O U T H P O RT L A N D H I G H S C H O O L A D D I T I O N S A N D R E N O VAT I O N S

LocationSouth Portland, Maine

Contract Value$40.4 million

Completion DateJanuary 2015

Delivery MethodDesign-Bid-Build

OwnerSouth Portland School Department

ArchitectHarriman Associates

ChallengeA major additions and renovations project at South Portland High School delivers more than 170,000 square feet of new construction (Phase 1) and 130,000 square feet of renovations (Phase 2), transforming the school into a state-of-the-art facility while maintaining much of the buildings’ historic character. The evolution and history of PC Construction’s involvement with South Portland High School is a unique story, and is but one example of PC’s approach to progressively “think outside the box” in pursuing and achieving project success.

The story begins immediately following the project’s competitive bid process in early 2012. PC was the project’s low bidder at $44 million; however, the bid results also revealed our bid was still 10% above the entire project’s publicly-funded budget. The project appeared destined for a redesign and subsequent rebid process – a costly scenario where the School Department would incur additional design fees and lost time associated with a design overhaul.

SolutionPC Construction promptly collaborated with the architect and the School Department to propose and manage a systematic value engineering (VE) effort. The goal was to identify cost-saving measures without compromising project programming, physical building area, building system performance or aesthetic design qualities. Over the next six weeks the project team developed a “VE log” containing several hundred potential cost-saving options and their effect on project budget. Remarkably, the VE options did not simply reduce interior square footage or other program elements, but instead focused on improved constructability methods, streamlined work sequences and, in

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some cases, equal quality through less-costly material substitutions to achieve the necessary cost reduction.

To develop and finalize the list of selected VE options, PC’s project team met with the architect and School Department in an all-day meeting. In the end, the vast majority of VE options were selected, which summed to more than $4 million in savings, and returned the overall project within the required budget. Along with the architect’s design documents, the final accepted VE log – accompanied by related clarifying sketches and narratives – served as an integral basis of PC’s prime contract. Most importantly, a fast-track start to construction was set in motion while the architect concurrently incorporated VE options into a final issued-for-construction document set.

ResultsGroundbreaking for Phase 1 began immediately following VE in spring 2012, with sitework, utility work and deep foundation installation occurring through the summer. PC routinely evaluated the sequence of construction and, at times, revised the sequence of activities to accommodate the school’s programming needs. For example, the original project budget contained expected costs for portable modular classrooms during a portion of Phase 2 renovations. After meeting with school officials and fully understanding programing requirements, PC developed an approach to deliver a large portion of new classroom space earlier than scheduled, thereby eliminating the need for temporary classrooms and saving the School Department approximately $175,000.

The project has provided South Portland High School new facilities – increasing space by more than 50% and enhancing the teaching and learning experience with the latest technologies – constructed in a well-conceived and executed, multi-phase approach with minimal disruption to campus operations. Included in the project is a renovated Beal Gym and South Portland Auditorium as well as the construction of a new dining hall, kitchen facility, lecture hall, tennis courts and ball fields. Armed with a clear understanding of the school’s project goals and program requirements, PC Construction was able to work with the school to implement innovative solutions, reduce costs and mitigate construction impacts during the project.

C A S E ST U DY: S O U T H P O RT L A N D H I G H S C H O O L A D D I T I O N S A N D R E N O VAT I O N S