10-05-2025
Designs offer look inside new Park Forest Middle School. When could work start?
The latest plans for the State College Area School District's new middle school offer a glimpse at tentative designs for the first time.
The district's new Park Forest Middle School, slated for construction along Little Lion Drive off of Valley Vista Drive, will replace the 54-year-old school of the same name that was last renovated in 1995. Current estimates presented during Monday's school board meeting say the project for the 270,000-square-foot building could cost between roughly $127.9 million and $136.9 million.
Cost estimates for the project could increase by about $2.8 million if alternates are included in the plans, according to Jeff Straub of project architect Crabtree, Rohrbaugh & Associates. He said the project team has worked to keep up with inflation and market shakeups that have forced some cost increases, including a roughly 8% hike in steel prices.
Straub said cost inflation has not yet reflected the dramatic spikes seen shortly after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, but tariffs and other significant market changes could still complicate plans for the new middle school. The project team expects to present in July a more detailed cost estimate prepared by a third party.
'The final cost estimate will probably be in the order of magnitude of 60 to 80 pages of detail, really breaking down every system in the building and trying to compare that to the market conditions that are occurring, which is difficult,' Straub told the school board. 'We're all watching the news. It changes daily or weekly — sometimes hourly.'
The project team presented plans at Monday's school board meeting to mark completion of roughly 60% of the development process. An updated schedule for the project shows many objectives left before crews can break ground, including in-depth facility studies and the third-party cost estimate slated for this summer. The team expects to have an Act 34 public hearing scheduled between August and October before the project's 90% check-in arrives by early fall.
Under the current project schedule, the bidding process should begin in October or November before the board can approve plans in November or December. If all goes to plan, construction on the new middle school could start as soon as January or February 2026 and last for about two years.
A large portion of the roughly hour-long presentation featured new concept art and renderings of the new Park Forest Middle School.
Most updates on the project presented to the school board over the last few months centered on the site plan, including stormwater management, utilities, transportation configurations and the placement of geothermal well fields.
Current plans for the site show a lot for bus drop-off and pickup just north of the school, while staff parking and a dedicated lane for parent drop-off and pickup are just south of the school building. A delivery/maintenance area and a loading dock sit slightly to the building's east and west, respectively. The site will keep tennis courts and a soccer field on the parcel's eastern side and place a stormwater basin near Valley Vista Drive.
The project will place geothermal well fields under the soccer field and the north parking lot, plans show.
The middle school's three-story classroom wing will see students physically 'move up' through the sixth, seventh and eighth grades — a cost-effective design choice, Straub said. The building's exterior will feature a blend of stone, masonry and both wood grain and dark bronze metal paneling, though these elements are expected to join concrete in comprising the building's interior. Ceiling clouds are planned to help optimize indoor acoustics.
Elsewhere, the school's gymnasium, library, cafeteria, administrative offices and auditorium will each have a centralized location on the first or second floor.
Angel Henward, a Delta Program student serving as the school board's latest student representative, noted that plans for the new middle school resemble State High. She said the school's layout could help middle school students make a smoother transition to the high school, which opened in 2018.
'I remember when I came from the middle school over to the high school, the middle school is all [on] one floor and kind of small, and it's a very different layout to the high school,' Henward said. 'I felt very confused and disoriented with the way the high school is laid out, and I think having these three separate floors and having kind of a structural similarity to the high school will maybe help kids adjust a little bit better and not feel so confused and so scared about it.'
The project's design team is expected to propose installing bird-safe glass for large windows slated for the middle school's main entrances, library, cafeteria and stair towers throughout the building, which comprise most of the glass used in current plans. Glass of this kind would be used only if the board approves an alternative bid for the project later in the design process.
Following the presentation, some board members and representatives raised concerns about the potential inclusion of many glass windows in the school and security measures planned for the school, specifically referencing the thwarted school shooting allegedly planned to target State High in April. Randy Brown, the district's finance and operations officer, said the team will meet with school resources officers, local police departments and the district's safety experts to discuss recommendations for the new school.
Straub said Crabtree, Rohrbaugh & Associates formed plans for the middle school with specific safety criteria in mind.
'One thing we incorporate in all of our buildings is crime prevention through environmental design,' Straub said. 'In a lot of the images that you saw, we're trying to create a building that's both an inviting and warm educational facility. But we are also trying to embed those security principles.'
Several design elements remain unresolved for now, including a project alternate that could include a solar array with the help of a potential grant from Pennsylvania's Solar for Schools program. Regardless, the school is expected to achieve LEED Gold certification by following a sustainability certification plan used previously by the district when constructing the new State High and three elementary school projects.
The project team expects to continue meeting with Park Forest teachers and staff and other constituents throughout the district as the design process continues. Brown said balancing the new school's many needs creates 'a very tight site plan.'
Park Forest Middle School Principal Karen Wiser said the project team has provided constant communication and listens to feedback.
'They've been great in responding to all of our needs and making sure we're going to be creating the best learning environment for our students,' she said.
