Unexpected geological and infrastructure hurdles have added over $600,000 to Palmerton Area School District’s estimated upcoming construction project costs. Officials, however, said Tuesday night the plans remain on track for a summer groundbreaking.

During a school board workshop, project architect Jay Clough of KCBA Architects informed the school board that recent site testing revealed poor soil quality and a few areas of asbestos that will require remediation.

The project, which centers on a two-story addition to the high school and a new district administration building, is currently estimated to cost approximately $15.1 million, according to Tuesday’s presentation.

The most significant financial impact stems from the ground itself. Clough explained that the soil at the building site is largely “fill” that lacks the stability to support the new structures.

“The soil is not great for carrying buildings,” he said. “It basically was filled. Nobody paid a whole lot of attention to it back in the day.”

To solve the stability issue, the district will have to install concrete piers to reach solid ground. Clough described the process as “putting money in the ground,” an essential but invisible structural expense.

“Because of that, we are going to have to, on the west addition (the new district administration building), put on 12 feet with 4-foot diameter piers to go get something that will hold up our building,” Clough said.

The soil conditions also forced a change in how the district will manage water. Because the site contains heavy clay that does not allow water to soak into the ground naturally, architects designed a sophisticated irrigation system that repurposes rain runoff.

“The water is collected, put into a dry well, actually a rep well,” Clough said. “On Sundays, your front lawn will be the top of the community. It’s going to be watered with the stormwater that comes off the parking lot, instead of throwing in those big moon crater things you used to see.”

Combined, the structural fill, deep foundations, and the new stormwater system are estimated to add $526,000 to the project.

A second surprise came during inspections of the existing high school’s utility lines. While the school’s water and heating pipes are functional, the tie-ins for the new addition require upsizing the lines. During this process, crews discovered asbestos-clad piping. While Clough noted the asbestos is currently safe and in good shape, law requires its removal once the pipes are disturbed.

“With those three items, what do you do?” Clough said. “I mean, those have to happen. It wasn’t anybody’s fault. It wasn’t anybody’s extravagant design.”

Security upgrade

Despite the added costs, the project’s primary focus remains improving security and academic functionality. The 10,600-square-foot east side addition will create a new entrance for the high school. This design forces visitors to pass through three sets of locked doors and the administrative office before entering the student wings.

“The administrators that run the high school will be moved from the front door area to the new addition on the other side of the building,” Clough said. “This allows them to see all the visitors coming and going during the normal school day.”

The second floor of that addition will provide five new classrooms, including a family and consumer science suite. Clough told the board the goal is to create flexibility and versatility so students are prepared for the types of environments they will see in higher education.

The project also features a new nurse’s suite positioned to serve both the high school and the junior high. This area will be linked to the counseling department, a move Clough said was intentional.

The second building in the plan is a 10,800-square-foot administration center on the west side of the complex. Moving district offices out of the Parkside Education Center has been a long-standing goal for the board to improve student safety at that facility.

As the district prepares to go out to bid at the end of January, Clough presented several “alternates”— optional items that can be added if bids come in lower than expected. These include a $155,000 upgrade to the high school’s intrusion detection system and a $44,000 supplemental cooling system for the new administrative offices.

The district expects to award construction contracts in April. If the time frame holds, work will begin June 8, the day after students leave for summer break. The project is slated for total completion by Aug. 15, 2027.

“We are working as a team with you to get you as much building at the highest quality at the most value that we can,” Clough said.