District presents middle school design, schedule and $131.5M program financing

Design and construction teams updated the North Little Rock School District board on the new middle school campus, describing the project's phasing, safety features, near-term construction milestones and financing.

Taggart Architects walked the board through campus organization and safety design: the plan places a two-story seventh/eighth-grade building and a two-story sixth-grade building linked by a large porch that creates a single, secure point of entry. James Meyer described circulation and classroom organization, color-coded corridors for wayfinding and a secure vestibule with industry-standard "child guard" ballistic glazing at the main entry. "We have this large community porch that connects the two buildings...so all of our students come together in a nice place," Meyer said. He also described security doors that are normally held open and will close on a fire or security alarm.

Construction representatives described immediate construction activity. Nappholz Construction reported footings installed in area A, a slab pour scheduled for the coming Monday and two loads of steel arriving on Friday for the north wing. "We're about to go vertical," the contractor said, noting a crane will make the change visible on the site. They projected 'topping out' (a steel completion milestone) later in the summer and phase 1 completion in 2027.

The board received a review of financing and cost estimates. The district reported a building fund balance and a state partnership award of $20,871,000; bond proceeds from two sales amounted to roughly $70.1 million. In the finance summary, available program revenue was listed at about $131.5 million. The middle school was estimated at approximately $74 million, the indoor sports and activity center at about $20 million and Old Main restoration priced around $30 million; the presentation also included $5.5 million in project contingencies. The presenter said $4.4 million had already been spent from Series A bonds.

Project scale and schedule details were also shared: the seventh/eighth-grade building is approximately 90,000 square feet, the sixth-grade building about 54–55,000 square feet and the multipurpose gym about 32,000 square feet, for a total middle school campus near 200,000 square feet. The contractor gave a square-foot cost example of roughly $330 per square foot for the seventh/eighth building. Board members asked for additional square-footage detail and a price-per-square-foot breakdown for community communication; the district agreed to provide those figures.

Administrators emphasized community outreach: they reported 20–30 public meetings and online sessions during design, and said a community construction advisory committee will continue to meet (expected frequency: approximately every other month) to review finishes, color options and project updates. The team proposed additional color and flooring renderings, a student feedback opportunity and public sessions to allow community input on interior color choices; they asked the board to provide color and finish decisions by July so procurement and production lead times (some measured in months) could be met.

On historic preservation and demolition, the administration said it will present an early abatement and demolition scope for Old Main; officials plan to provide public walk-throughs and opportunities for community members to identify items for salvage or donation before demolition work begins.

Next steps: the project team will share finalized cash-flow schedules, square-footage breakdowns and color/finish options; a slab pour and steel deliveries are imminent, and the district expects phase 1 work to become visibly vertical in the near term.