The Colonial School District sent out an update today on the upcoming renovations at Plymouth Whitemarsh High School, which are set to begin in June. Below is the update:

The Colonial School District is in the final planning phase of the Plymouth Whitemarsh High School (PWHS) renovation project. The District is on schedule to begin work on the building in June.

Last November, Colonial received a waiver of the land development process from the Whitemarsh Township Planning Commission. That enabled the District to deal directly with the township administrative team for preliminary and final approvals rather than dealing with other outside agencies. The waiver saved saving approximately six to eight months of planning time. Meetings with the township administration have provided direction regarding fire suppression, electrical and plumbing code requirements, access ability per the Americans with Disabilities Act and storm water management.

Administrators and architects held a number of meetings with the high school staff to design rooms to accommodate different departmental needs. With that process is now complete, mechanical, electrical and plumbing engineers are finalizing the locations of all of the HVAC equipment, plumbing fixtures, data wiring, surveillance cameras, security systems and the ceiling and lighting plan.

The design of the new centralized cafeteria is nearly complete. The scatter serve design will efficiently accommodate up to 600 students at one time. All of the equipment for the kitchen has been specified.

Final building material and equipment selections will be made over the next month. Included will be the selection of colors and finishes. Color boards and material samples will be presented for School Board review and approval by mid March.

Over the next two months the complete construction document set will be finalized and ready for District review. Once reviewed and approved, the project will be put out for bid in April with work expected to begin in June.

Additionally, formal bidding documents have been assembled for the installation of a UV filtration system for the swimming pool. The purchase and installation of the system was originally scheduled for the spring of 2016 but has been expedited.