Wisconsin Valley Lutheran High School
By: Frances Putman
In 2001, Lutheran church leaders in Wisconsin began studying the feasibility of forming a high school in the Wisconsin Valley area. Eventually, 13 local churches joined together to form an association, part of the Missouri Synod, with each congregation agreeing to support the school financially and through its prayers.
They hoped the school--which would be built in Mosinee, a town about eight miles south of Wausau--would provide a Christ-centered educational environment, promote academic excellence and prepare young people for Christian service. The association set a budget, began raising funds, purchased property and developed a building timeframe, promoting the opening of Wisconsin Valley Lutheran High School in fall 2004. They hired an architect to design the project and, with plan in hand, began approaching builders.
"What they discovered was that they were significantly over budget," said Dave Kievet, executive vice president and general manager of Oscar J. Boldt Construction. "They couldn't afford to go forward."
Association leaders contacted Boldt about managing construction and possibly redesigning the school to be less expensive. The approximately 32,000-square-foot facility was to include classrooms, a gymnasium, a commons/chapel area, computer and science labs, a library, a kitchen, a conference room and administrative offices.
"We didn't want to compromise the design of the building or reduce the size," said Mark Knapp, procurement manager at Boldt. "We were looking for ways to maintain quality, while reducing costs."
The first step was going through the plan piece by piece to see what could be eliminated, changed or redesigned to be less expensive.
"One of the services we offer is design value engineering, and this is what we did," Knapp added. "We looked at every item to see if there was an opportunity to insure quality but reduce costs."
As completed, the project included concrete foundations, insulated concrete walls, structural steel, pre-cast concrete, wood framing/trusses and concrete block.
Exterior wall finishes included brick veneer, exterior insulation finish system, vinyl siding, decorative pre-cast concrete and aluminum and aluminum-clad wood windows.
Interior finishes included quarry tile, vinyl composite tile, skylight wells, drywall soffits, brick veneer, carpet, painted block/drywall, millwork, display cases, wood gymnasium flooring and specialty lighting. Plumbing, HVAC, electrical, fire alarm and fire protection systems also were included.
Project leaders came up with approximately two dozen ideas to reduce the final cost. They noticed some plumbing fixtures chosen for the school were actually inappropriate. The fixtures were attractive and costly, but not necessarily functional for a high school. Knapp said they might have been better suited for a top-notch hotel.
Other building materials were substituted as well, and the heating ventilation system was redesigned to lower costs. A call went out through the churches and through the suppliers Boldt works with regularly to secure donations of materials. Boldt approached local organizations and businesses on behalf of the school and secured other donations as well.
Much of the cabinetry for the science classes was donated, as were bleachers for the gymnasium. Other items were donated or offered at significantly reduced prices, like sound equipment, lockers light fixtures, cafeteria equipment, student cubicles and furnishings.
"Those costs came right off the bottom line," Knapp said.
Next, volunteers were asked to donate time to reduce labor costs. Much of the painting was done by volunteers, as was landscaping. The heating system was installed by a professional contractor who also was a member of one of the association churches. About 40 volunteers showed up one day to install the 100-foot by 100-foot gymnasium floor, which Knapp called a "monumental" task.
Project manager Jim Van Asten of Boldt arranged for training the volunteers, and he supervised the floor installation.
"The volunteer effort was a tremendous success," Knapp said, noting that people showed up week after week to help and to keep the project on schedule. Knapp estimated these cost-saving measures eventually cut about $500,000 off the cost of the project. The final cost was about $2.5 million, with a final value of about $3.2 million.
Because critical time in the building schedule had been lost, some wondered if Wisconsin Valley Lutheran High School could be completed in time to open for the 2004-2005 school year. The first bulldozers didn't arrive on the property until February, and actual construction didn't get underway until April. But the deadline of opening the school in September never changed.
"We worked quickly on an accelerated or compressed schedule, which allowed us to complete the project on time," Knapp said. Fifteen 9 th and 10 th graders began attending classes at the school in September 2004, with other classes to be added in subsequent years, which was the plan all along. Eleventh grade classes will be offered in 2005, and 12 th grade classes will be offered in 2006.
"The project has been tremendous," said Jim Rawlings, administrator of Wisconsin Valley Lutheran High School . "We couldn't be more pleased with the results."
Rawlings said the school currently could hold 100 to 125 students, but surveys suggest the growth of the school could surpass that number within five years. Plans are in the works, he said, to add six more classrooms, as well as a fine arts area for choir and band. The design of the current school, he said, will easily allow future additions.
He suggests that other schools considering a building project carefully weigh the financial aspects of the project, and be sure that everyone involved is aware of the budget.
When plans have to be redesigned or changed, it costs more money-something most Christian schools can't afford. And, Knapp suggested that school leaders considering a building project carefully weigh the options of going with a design/build firm or hiring an architect.
"Understand carefully the design options," he said. "There are opportunities on the front end to save money."
And, he advises other Christian schools to identify early possible sources of in-kind donations and volunteer labor.
About the Builder
Founded in 1889, Oscar J. Boldt Construction, a division of The Boldt Company, www.boldt.com , is a fourth-generation, family-owned construction firm providing construction planning, design-build and general contracting services to customers in a variety of businesses and industries.
