Plagued by rising cost projections and months of gridlock over rugged mountain topography, Jackson County commissioners have been re-evaluating their path forward on the proposed Smoky Mountain Middle School project and capital improvements at Blue Ridge School.
During their Oct. 20 regular meeting, commissioners heard a pitch from Knoxville-based Cope Architecture.
At their Oct. 6 meeting, LS3P Architecture, which has offices in South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, and North Carolina, presented ideas to commissioners on how they would work to meet the project’s budget and needs.
Both presentations come on the heels of the county’s decision to move away from previous designer Pinnacle Architecture following commissioners’ frustrations over site preparation costs and rising budget estimates.
With a target budget of roughly $60 million for the middle school and an additional $18 million earmarked for Blue Ridge School, county commissioners have emphasized the importance that the chosen architect stays on budget and helps the county find efficiencies and cost savings wherever they can.
Cope Architecture representatives at the meeting included Vice President Cayce Petko, K-12 Market Sector Lead Jim Hinton, and Senior Consultant Grant Tharp.
One persistent challenge commissioners have faced throughout the Smoky Mountain Middle School project is how to design a public school on the rocky terrain along Highway 107.
When the possibility of a $105 million school bond was on the table, design plans for the middle school included construction of multiple regulation-sized athletic facilities and a one-story building design that were in part responsible for the increasing cost estimations.
Now, commissioners have pivoted to including a large grassy, multipurpose field in site plans with the option of adding better athletic fields down the line. They are also pushing for architects to design a school that is built upward instead of outward and uses precast construction methods to lower costs.
“The key when you’re building in mountainous land, which we’ve been doing quite a bit, is try to keep the footprint as small as possible and go as vertical as you can to make it functional for a school,” Hinton said. “The less amount of land that you touch and the less amount of land you have to move to be able to do it.”
The representative pointed to the firm’s recent work on Mitchell County Middle School — a two-story, total pre-cast concrete facility delivered alongside construction manager-at-risk Vannoy Construction for just over $35 million — as an example of adapting building systems to mountain terrain. By fabricating concrete wall panels off-site and erecting them quickly on fixed foundations, the firm argued districts can significantly shorten construction windows while controlling site preparation overhead — something LS3P architecture also suggested could be a possible cost-saving method.
“I would like to see the school build on the most suitable location outside the rock and then we’ll see what we’ve got left for fields,” said Commissioner Todd Bryson. “I mean, that’s the smartest thing to do.”
A central priority for commissioners is ensuring that a high-dollar capital investment serves the county over multiple generations without requiring premature additions or structural overhauls.
“Well, that’s certainly our goal — a 40- 50-, or more-year project to where it’s not putting a band-aid on something and you outgrow it in five, 10 years,” said Commissioner Jenny Lynn Hooper.
Cope Architecture also outlined its experience managing simultaneous additions and retrofits at active campuses, a key consideration for upcoming work at Blue Ridge School. One representative noted recent projects in East Tennessee, where multi-classroom wings, secure administrative vestibules, and updated traffic loops were built in phases while school remained fully operational.
Beyond engineering specifics, the presentation focused on fiscal oversight and line-item accountability. Board members pressed the firm on how it balances administrative requests from school personnel with the financial parameters set by the county board holding the purse strings.
Commissioners were blunt regarding past frustrations with Pinnacle Architecture and the ballooning budget. Cope Architecture representatives responded that they rely on direct feedback, frequent joint meetings with both county and school administration, and direct cost monitoring alongside construction managers at every phase of design.
“We’re here to be a partner with the county, with the school system, to come in listening, and have the attitude to do what needs to be done,” Hinton said. “The one thing that we’re really proud of is the amount of repeat business that we do for each one of these clients.”
As the county aims for heavy machinery to begin moving dirt on-site within the next year, commissioners reiterated that they expect straightforward assessments from whichever design team is selected.
“We’re not going to hide anything from you. We’re not going to tell you what you want to hear. We’re going to tell you this is what the truth is,” Hinton said.
“Part of what we do, our job is to maybe even say things that nobody wants to say out loud,” he added, referencing past project site evaluations. “And it’s much cheaper to build a new ball field than it is to fix a site that’s inside of the flood plain.”
With LS3P having presented to the board in early October and Cope Architecture concluding its presentation, county administration is scheduled to bring a formal selection recommendation back to commissioners at their Nov. 3 meeting.
The decision marks a critical juncture for the board. With upcoming leadership transitions on the horizon following local elections, outgoing and returning commissioners alike are pushing to lock down an architectural partnership that can navigate state permitting schedules, coordinate with regional infrastructure projects, and deliver a completed facility by mid-2029.