Build a New Juanita High School page 3
Considering Costs and Risks of Controlling Hazardous Substances and the Many Modifications Needed, the Best Option is to Build a New School
1. Rebuilding is more cost-effective than doing nothing. Common to school buildings of this vintage, asbestos, lead, and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) are present throughout Juanita High School. As required by law, the Lake Washington School District maintains a regular surveillance of the school’s structural components containing these hazardous substances, repairing or replacing worn or damaged components as needed. (26, 27, 2)
Every three years, EPA requires school districts to conduct a full inspection of all their schools that contain asbestos. In 2013, the cost of this triennial inspection of the 18 schools in the Lake Washington School District containing asbestos was $10,903.46 (As reported by Forrest Miller, Director of Support Services, LWSD in 4/8/2014 email to the author). EPA also requires school custodians to conduct surveillances and inspections every six months of their school's asbestos containing materials.
Worn or damaged materials containing asbestos that are at risk of releasing the fibers into the environment must be repaired or replaced. This action is termed asbestos abatement. The preferred option is repair the material by encapsulating it with a sealant or some type of protective barrier. No level of airborne asbestos fibers is considered to be safe.
The district has conducted these kinds of asbestos monitoring, control, and abatement activities at Juanita High School for at least 16 years. Abatement action can be extremely costly - asbestos abatement can run as high as $400 per hour in the Kirkland area.
Consider also that the building’s aging electrical, heating, ventilation, plumbing, and roof drainage systems have serious deficiencies that require constant maintenance and repair.
Many of these basic operating systems were installed at a time when asbestos insulation was in common use. In fact, EPA-required assessments of the hazardous materials in Juanita High School documented their existence in close proximity to the school’s critical operating systems. Any actions taken to repair these systems located next to or near hazardous materials, also require, by law, special control procedures to avoid the release of toxic substances into the environment. (26, 27,2)
And it’s not just the cost to repair and abate that is substantial and growing. The cost of electricity is expected to rise in the coming years and so too will the cost to light Juanita High School. Very few windows exist to provide natural light in the school. Most classrooms rely on several rows of fluorescent ceiling lights even on the brightest days.
So, to do nothing, that is, to continue educating students in the current Juanita High School is to commit to paying for the ever-increasing costs of maintenance and operations, abatement of hazardous materials, and in-efficient energy use.
2. Rebuilding is more cost-effective than renovating. Both renovation and demolition require complex control procedures to deal with the building’s substantial quantities of hazardous material, such as asbestos-containing walls and insulation, lead-based paint, PCB-containing light ballasts, and mercury-containing fluorescent lights.
Renovation requires some and perhaps all students to be relocated to temporary facilities to protect them from exposure to hazardous substances while the building is being remodeled. Relocation is very costly and not always necessary under the demolition/rebuild option. The cost of portables and moving were greater under the option to renovate Lake Washington High School ($3.3 million) than they were to build a new-school option ($1.5 million). (11) The same was true for Benjamin Rush: the cost of portables and moving were $1.6 million under the renovation option and $800,000 for the new-school option. (13)
While a new high school is being built on Juanita High’s campus, students can continue attending classes in the current school until the new one is ready to be occupied. Much less need exists to move students to temporary facilities if the district were to rebuild Juanita High rather than renovate. (18)
Finally, demolition removes the hazardous materials once and for all. Renovation leaves some of these materials behind and continues the cost of surveillance and maintenance.
3. More Cost-Effective to Build a New A.G. Bell than to Renovate
The decision to construct a new A.G. Bell school rather than to renovate has important lessons for Juanita High School. The original A.G. Bell and the existing Juanita High buildings have similar building conditions. (12) Both have electrical, mechanical, heating and plumbing systems that would require extensive retrofitting and replacement to meet new state codes. Both would require gutting the building’s interior to establish appropriately sized classrooms in a workable layout. Both would require bathrooms to be gutted and rebuilt to meet the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) guidelines.
Two important differences are that A.G. Bell’s roof wasn't leaking at the time of the modernization and the school’s asbestos-containing materials were mostly confined to floor tiles. Juanita High’s roof has leaked so much over the years that it has apparently lost some of its structural integrity and now the custodian is not permitted to go on the roof. Compared to A.G. Bell, Juanita High has much more asbestos-containing materials throughout its pipe chases and crawl spaces as well as still having some asbestos-containing floor tiles. This suggests that if renovation of Juanita's building were even possible, it costs would be very expensive.
It’s interesting to note that the architect’s estimated cost of selective asbestos abatement under A.G. Bell’s renovation ($7.50 per sq ft) was more than the estimated cost of asbestos abatement for demolition ($4 per sq ft). The cost difference represents the particular care and time needed for trained workers to remove certain asbestos-containing materials without damaging material that is to remain in place. Again, this would lead one to predict that selective abatement costs occurring if Juanita High’s building were to be renovated would also be expensive.
Early estimates of A.G Bell’s renovation costs ($16,521,426) were somewhat less than the school’s estimated new construction costs ($16,840,709), amounting to a savings of about $320,000. However, school architects still recommended the new construction option. They were worried about other contingency costs that could occur during renovation and they knew that the final product - a new A.G.Bell Elementary School rather than a renovated A.G.Bell - would be so much better and provide the district with more value for its money.
As the architects stated,
“It is clear to us that those slight savings do not warrant the risks and limitations. Outdated by building code and energy code standards, the existing building would need a complete overhaul of the mechanical system, extensive envelope work, and re-organization of interior layouts to begin to meet current codes and standards. The building of a new school will allow the facility to better meet the requirements as set forth in the Education Specifications and design guidelines set by the Lake Washington School District. There is greater opportunity to improve upon the quality of the learning environment with new construction as opposed to renovation.” (Bolding added by website manager.) (12 p.10)
Every three years, EPA requires school districts to conduct a full inspection of all their schools that contain asbestos. In 2013, the cost of this triennial inspection of the 18 schools in the Lake Washington School District containing asbestos was $10,903.46 (As reported by Forrest Miller, Director of Support Services, LWSD in 4/8/2014 email to the author). EPA also requires school custodians to conduct surveillances and inspections every six months of their school's asbestos containing materials.
Worn or damaged materials containing asbestos that are at risk of releasing the fibers into the environment must be repaired or replaced. This action is termed asbestos abatement. The preferred option is repair the material by encapsulating it with a sealant or some type of protective barrier. No level of airborne asbestos fibers is considered to be safe.
The district has conducted these kinds of asbestos monitoring, control, and abatement activities at Juanita High School for at least 16 years. Abatement action can be extremely costly - asbestos abatement can run as high as $400 per hour in the Kirkland area.
Consider also that the building’s aging electrical, heating, ventilation, plumbing, and roof drainage systems have serious deficiencies that require constant maintenance and repair.
Many of these basic operating systems were installed at a time when asbestos insulation was in common use. In fact, EPA-required assessments of the hazardous materials in Juanita High School documented their existence in close proximity to the school’s critical operating systems. Any actions taken to repair these systems located next to or near hazardous materials, also require, by law, special control procedures to avoid the release of toxic substances into the environment. (26, 27,2)
And it’s not just the cost to repair and abate that is substantial and growing. The cost of electricity is expected to rise in the coming years and so too will the cost to light Juanita High School. Very few windows exist to provide natural light in the school. Most classrooms rely on several rows of fluorescent ceiling lights even on the brightest days.
So, to do nothing, that is, to continue educating students in the current Juanita High School is to commit to paying for the ever-increasing costs of maintenance and operations, abatement of hazardous materials, and in-efficient energy use.
2. Rebuilding is more cost-effective than renovating. Both renovation and demolition require complex control procedures to deal with the building’s substantial quantities of hazardous material, such as asbestos-containing walls and insulation, lead-based paint, PCB-containing light ballasts, and mercury-containing fluorescent lights.
Renovation requires some and perhaps all students to be relocated to temporary facilities to protect them from exposure to hazardous substances while the building is being remodeled. Relocation is very costly and not always necessary under the demolition/rebuild option. The cost of portables and moving were greater under the option to renovate Lake Washington High School ($3.3 million) than they were to build a new-school option ($1.5 million). (11) The same was true for Benjamin Rush: the cost of portables and moving were $1.6 million under the renovation option and $800,000 for the new-school option. (13)
While a new high school is being built on Juanita High’s campus, students can continue attending classes in the current school until the new one is ready to be occupied. Much less need exists to move students to temporary facilities if the district were to rebuild Juanita High rather than renovate. (18)
Finally, demolition removes the hazardous materials once and for all. Renovation leaves some of these materials behind and continues the cost of surveillance and maintenance.
3. More Cost-Effective to Build a New A.G. Bell than to Renovate
The decision to construct a new A.G. Bell school rather than to renovate has important lessons for Juanita High School. The original A.G. Bell and the existing Juanita High buildings have similar building conditions. (12) Both have electrical, mechanical, heating and plumbing systems that would require extensive retrofitting and replacement to meet new state codes. Both would require gutting the building’s interior to establish appropriately sized classrooms in a workable layout. Both would require bathrooms to be gutted and rebuilt to meet the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) guidelines.
Two important differences are that A.G. Bell’s roof wasn't leaking at the time of the modernization and the school’s asbestos-containing materials were mostly confined to floor tiles. Juanita High’s roof has leaked so much over the years that it has apparently lost some of its structural integrity and now the custodian is not permitted to go on the roof. Compared to A.G. Bell, Juanita High has much more asbestos-containing materials throughout its pipe chases and crawl spaces as well as still having some asbestos-containing floor tiles. This suggests that if renovation of Juanita's building were even possible, it costs would be very expensive.
It’s interesting to note that the architect’s estimated cost of selective asbestos abatement under A.G. Bell’s renovation ($7.50 per sq ft) was more than the estimated cost of asbestos abatement for demolition ($4 per sq ft). The cost difference represents the particular care and time needed for trained workers to remove certain asbestos-containing materials without damaging material that is to remain in place. Again, this would lead one to predict that selective abatement costs occurring if Juanita High’s building were to be renovated would also be expensive.
Early estimates of A.G Bell’s renovation costs ($16,521,426) were somewhat less than the school’s estimated new construction costs ($16,840,709), amounting to a savings of about $320,000. However, school architects still recommended the new construction option. They were worried about other contingency costs that could occur during renovation and they knew that the final product - a new A.G.Bell Elementary School rather than a renovated A.G.Bell - would be so much better and provide the district with more value for its money.
As the architects stated,
“It is clear to us that those slight savings do not warrant the risks and limitations. Outdated by building code and energy code standards, the existing building would need a complete overhaul of the mechanical system, extensive envelope work, and re-organization of interior layouts to begin to meet current codes and standards. The building of a new school will allow the facility to better meet the requirements as set forth in the Education Specifications and design guidelines set by the Lake Washington School District. There is greater opportunity to improve upon the quality of the learning environment with new construction as opposed to renovation.” (Bolding added by website manager.) (12 p.10)