The Seaside School District awarded a contract to construction manager/general contractor Hoffman Construction, a Portland-based company with government and school construction experience.

“We felt they were the best suited firm for the job,” Superintendent Sheila Roley said.

The board made the offer at a special meeting at the high school Tuesday. Final negotiations follow approval.

Along with architects Dull, Olson Weekes-IBI and DAY CPM project management, Hoffman will become the third of “the three main groups” to build the district’s new campus in the Southeast Hills, replacing Seaside High School, Broadway Middle School and Gearhart Elementary School, located in the tsunami inundation zone. Voters overwhelmingly passed a $99.7 million bond for new schools in November.

Three bids entered

From January to April, Dull Olson Weekes-IBI finalized the educational specifications and functional programming for the district.

DAY CPM, a Beaverton-based owner’s representative consulting firm, was contracted in January to administer construction management services on behalf of the district throughout the project.

The target budget is expected to exceed $112.5 million, of which more than $82 million is expected to fund construction. Of the total cost, an additional $8.2 million is targeted for design costs and engineering services.

Bids were requested April 10 and three proposals received on May 9.

Hoffman Construction, which built the Portland State University Research and Teaching Center and the Sandy High School, had “an excellent written proposal and presentation and we were really impressed by their qualifications,” Roley said. “They have built some excellent schools already in the state of Oregon and they have a lot of coast experience. Overall, we feel they’re a great team to go with the team we already have going.”

In a letter last week, Superintendent-emeritus Doug Dougherty said Weyerhaeuser Co. will start on the far east end of the Southeast Hill property and move west. After tree and stump removal, site development will begin.

Logging at the top of the hill began this week, Roley said, with material going through main logging roads. Logging will not begin in the vicinity of Seaside Heights Elementary School until after the school year.

Weyerhaeuser, which donated 80 acres to the district to house the campus, will receive profits from the harvest of the wood, part of the agreement’s terms.

Architect, project manager and construction management teams plan to meet next week at the district office, Roley said.

Concurrently, the district will appear before the city seeking an expansion of the urban growth boundary, she said, referring to the process of linking school property to city services. Along with the Weyerhaeuser timber removal, the district plans to contract out logging of an additional 12 acres adjacent to Seaside Heights, part of a 19-acre parcel, Roley said. AKS Engineering and Forestry is the logging contractor.

The district anticipates paying out $22.5 million next year toward the project, endorsed by voters in approval of a $99.7 million construction bond last November, Business Manager Justine Hill said in April.

The budget number swelled with the addition of $4 million from the state, along with favorable bond sales and rates, Hill said.

According to the district’s project timeline, heavy site work is scheduled to begin in the first and second quarters of 2018.

“We are right where we want to be,” Roley said. “We don’t anticipate any actual construction until the summer of 2018 but we will be very busy with the preparation up until that time.”

Completion of campus construction and opening for classes is anticipated by fall 2020.