Shining Rock expansion in the works
Shining Rock Classical Academy.
Shining Rock Classical Academy may have just opened the doors to its new building at the start of this school year, but plans for phase II of the construction process were in the works long before students ever stepped foot in the new building.
The SRCA board has decided that it would like to pursue phase II as a three-story wing addition. This guidance has been given to architect and contractor BC Construction Group, the same entity that completed the first phase of Shining Rock’s new building, and it is being put together as a formal bid. The new wing will include new classrooms as well as administrative offices.
Total cost for the addition is estimated at more than $8 million. The cost of the project will be added to the total purchase price of construction for phase I of the building, approximately $19.5 million. Both construction phases will be paid for with bond funding. Shining Rock Classical Academy created the Shining Rock Foundation to assist in the financing for the bond process.
“It appears that the financing estimate is going to land closer to around $28 million, but we really won’t know until we get a firm quote from BCCG,” said Head of School Joshua Morgan.
The estimated cost for phase II construction does not include additional expenses such as furnishings, technology, awnings, security cameras and solar integration. Further, the school plans to eventually outfit the Dellwood campus for instructional learning once again. Many of these costs are unknown, but the school estimates a budget of more than half a million dollars in ancillary expenses.
Total capacity at the new Shining Rock school building is more than 600 students. However, in May of 2021, due to stronger than expected open enrollment and intent to return numbers, it was projected that capacity for the building could be reached during the 2021-22 school year. In part because of these high enrollment numbers, Shining Rock Classical Academy was already requesting cost projections for Phase II of the building process last summer.
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Shining Rock currently serves grades K-9. According to Morgan, the school plans to add one grade per year over the next three school years until it serves grades K-12. The former Dellwood location is being used for the Shining Rock Classical Academy Pre-K program for 3- and 4-year-olds.
In July, the board unanimously voted to move forward with phase II of the building process and to continue partnering with BCCG. At a November meeting, the board expressed interest in making phase II of the building a net-zero carbon facility by incorporating geothermal and solar technology. However, the team at BCCG informed the board that geothermal technology would raise the price of construction outside the bounds of Shining Rock’s budget.
Solar panels are still in the plans for phase II construction and Moxie Solar presented a quote to the board at a Jan. 5 meeting. Estimated cost for the solar panels is more than $300,000. According to Moxie, the school will have recouped what they pay for the solar system in electricity savings within 12 years.
