Butterfly Ridge Elementary School will have Community Recreation Center

Brad Ahalt, senior project manager with the school district, told board members that the school system had found cost savings because the design of Butterfly Ridge had been replicated before, like the new North Frederick Elementary School, and built.

“The contractors have performed the work before,” Ahalt said.

Ahalt noted that bids for Sugarloaf Elementary School — the new elementary school being constructed in Urbana, with the same design — had been distributed right before Butterfly Ridge. Contractors were able to adjust their bids when they lost out on Sugarloaf Elementary, Ahalt said. In some cases, the contractors who bid the highest on Sugarloaf bid the lowest on Butterfly Ridge — winning the contract, he said.

The gymnasium and recreation center will be managed by the city of Frederick Parks and Recreation Department and school administrators. Other centers are run through a partnership with the county’s parks and recreation department. The total expected cost of the center is $668,703.

The center, a 7,233-square-foot space, includes additional gym space and an activity room.

City Alderman Josh Bokee (D) had particularly pressed for the center and the oversized gymnasium. He said in a Friday interview that such a recreational facility doesn’t exist on the west side of the city, and so “it’s great news” it is being built.

“It’s going to be a great resource for the community,” Bokee said.

Both new elementary schools are due to open in 2018. Butterfly Ridge is expected to ease overcrowding in west Frederick.

The district doesn’t intend to use Sugarloaf as a new school right away, rather the plan is for Urbana Elementary School students to transfer into the new building while the school system knocks down and reconstructs Urbana Elementary.

The school district has estimated that Butterfly Ridge will cost roughly $46 million, and Sugarloaf will be about $40 million.