Hempfield Area School Board members this week got a peek at design ideas being considered for the district’s high school renovation project.

The preview — which focused on areas including the front entrance, cafeteria, auditorium and athletic wing — came months after board members voted to proceed to the design phase of the project. The plan is to tear down the high school to its structural system and rebuild everything as new.

Officials with Oakmont-based SitelogiQ and Bellevue-based Core Architects are working to present schematic design documents, or rough drawings, to the board this year. They are also working with district teachers, staff and administrators to determine the priorities of each department.

“We sit down with … the teachers and the building administration and just sort out what spaces you need, how many of them and generally the size that they need to be,” said Pete Szymanski, principal architect at Core Architects.

The renovated school would be roughly 380,000 square feet. That number will fluctuate as plans are finalized.

“You remember the original building is about 300,000 square feet,” Szymanski said. “We’re planning on putting about 75,000 (square feet) in additions, so it shows us that we’re in the ballpark.”

Plans laid out by Szymanski feature a main entrance with a secure vestibule. Someone entering the school would go to the security window to check in before being permitted into the main office. There, the school nurse and counselors would have their own entrances and waiting areas.

School police officers will have a security office with monitors.

The goal is to have office suites connected together inside so they “have access to each other for any needs, whether they need to discuss things or there’s an event or crisis going on, then they’ll be connected,” Szymanski said.

The cafeteria likely will remain in the same spot. A possible expansion could occur in the space between the cafeteria and library. The kitchen would be renovated to include walk-in coolers and freezers while eliminating columns throughout the space. There will be six serving lines for students.

Officials are working to include an outdoor space off of the cafeteria.

The auditorium likely will remain where it is because it “has a certain shell to it,” Szymanski said. “We can’t just move the walls out or anything like that.” Instead, the space could be redesigned for better sightlines. The pitch of the seating also could be increased, and the stage will be easily accessible.

A planned addition to that area of the school likely will include the band room, which will be at the same level as the stage. That will allow easy access for the band and allow the room to be used during plays and musicals for stage crew members, props and scenery.

A new athletic wing will be built near the field house and will include another area for school police.

There also are plans for a new competition gym.

The preliminary square footage allows for the administration offices and board room being moved to the high school. A final decision on whether the offices will move has yet to be made.

Other requests include large group spaces, Superintendent Tammy Wolicki said.

“I think it’s important to hear the thoughts just because this part of the design process is so important. Because once we move into getting into the schematic, it’s going to be hard to look back and say, ‘Oh we forgot something,’ ” Wolicki said. “I think that’s where we’re trying to be so careful to have many conversations.”

After the schematic designs are finished, they will be given to SitelogiQ, which will provide the board with a more detailed and accurate cost estimate, said Michael Arnold, vice president at SitelogiQ’s Oakmont office. From there, officials will determine what projects can be completed at other district buildings.

In all, the high school project is expected to cost between $97.4 million and $109.9 million.

After the estimate is received, a discussion will take place of where that number falls in the district’s budget and how they will proceed into the next phase.

“We won’t really go full bore into design development until the district decides that’s the schematic design we like and that’s the amount of money we want to spend for it,” Szymanski said.

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