Bradley-Bourbonnais Community High School will be adjusting materials and reducing some features from its facilities project after construction bids came in about $16 million over budget.

After bids were received in April, the total project cost was close to $86 million, putting the district over its $70 million budget.

BLDD Architects then completed value engineering modifications, bringing the total project cost down to about $74.5 million.

The modified plans, which the BBCHS Board approved Monday, include swapping building materials for less expensive options and reducing some minor architectural features.

These material changes will save close to $7 million, while some larger design changes will save an additional $3.2 million.

Major design changes will include reducing the planned physical education area in the field house addition from two stories down to one and reducing the planned science, technology, engineering, and math spaces.

There will be four new science labs instead of five, and the planned STEM multipurpose area won’t happen. Instead, other existing classrooms will be repurposed for STEM.

The district is also planning to sell a third round of bonds in the spring to generate an additional $4.8 million to fund the project.

Because of favorable market conditions and the district’s bond rating, BBCHS can sell the additional bonds while still remaining within the parameters approved by voters in the November 2024 referendum.

Bids approved

The construction work is being divided into 13 bid packages.

On Monday, the BBCHS School Board approved five of them, including concrete, precast materials, elevator construction, and excavation.

Contracts for concrete and precast went to Piggush Simoneau Inc. (PSI), of Kankakee, with base bids of $3,288,850 for concrete and $2,213,719 for precast.

The contract for masonry went to Otto Baum Company, Inc., of Morton, which provided a base bid of $1,784,000.

The contract for elevator installation went to TK Elevator Corporation, of Downers Grove, for a base bid of $149,673.

The contract for excavation went to Hamman Wagner Excavating, Inc., of Chebanse, for a base bid of $2,745,872.

Superintendent Matt Vosberg said the remaining eight bid packages will need to be approved between now and August.

In the meantime, the approval of the first five packages will allow the project to progress on schedule.

Work to relocate utilities began during spring break and is ongoing. Major construction likely won’t begin until June, Vosberg said.

Main design changes

Vosberg said that despite the design modifications, BBCHS will still be able to achieve its original goals for the facility project.

That includes getting students under one roof by eliminating the need for mobile classrooms and having adequate cafeteria space for the population of the building.

The functionality of the building will also be improved, with dedicated spaces still planned for athletics, arts and academics.

Because there have been nine additions over the years, these spaces are currently spread out throughout the building.

“So now, we’ll be able to kind of right size and organize the building as if it were a new building,” Vosberg said. “We’re happy with where things landed.”

Bond sales

The district has the authority to sell up to $62 million in bonds based on what voters approved in the November 2024 referendum.

So far, it has only sold $58 million worth of bonds.

Favorable market conditions meant that $62 million could still be generated without selling the full amount.

“I think the board used good judgment there, just to see where the bids were going to come in before they exhausted all the bonds,” Vosberg said.

With project bids coming in higher than anticipated, the district will now look to sell the remaining $4 million worth of bonds in January.

The district will sell a total of $62 million in bonds, but its bond proceeds will be around $67 million, Vosberg said.

“If your bonds are valuable to investors because of your bond rating compared to other bonds, you can sell it at a premium,” he said. “The extra $5 million is the premium bonds that those bonds earned because of market conditions.”

He noted the tax rate increase will still be the same 46 cents that was set forth in the referendum.

“The good news is, we had bonds that were favorable in market based on the ratings,” Vosberg said. “That allowed us to actually cover some additional expenses created by inflation.”

Unforeseen inflation on material and fuel costs were contributing factors to the higher than expected bid costs, he noted.

For instance, the price of steel rose 50%, increasing the anticipated steel cost from $3 million to $6 million. Companies have also implemented fuel surcharges because of rising gas prices.