A new architect was hired Monday to work on Hempfield Area School District’s long-stalled high school renovation project.

The school board hired Crabtree, Rohrbaugh & Associates of Mechanicsburg to replace Bellevue-based Core Architects, which resigned from the district’s high school renovation project in February.

The district’s solicitor and administration will be negotiating the contract and terms with the architect, and the deal will be subject to school board approval.

Founded in 1984, the firm has worked on other Pennsylvania school district projects, including renovations and additions to Chicora Elementary School in Karns City Area School District in Butler County. It also has designed school renovation projects in Virginia and Maryland.

Interim Superintendent Kimberlie Rieffannacht said the firm was chosen after a review of proposals with the buildings and grounds committee and conducting interviews.

Seven firms applied for the job and three finalists were interviewed before Crabtree, Rohrbaugh & Associates was chosen, she said.

“It was a multifaceted process, with a lot of variables that were taken into consideration,” Rieffannacht said.

Vince DeAugustine, chair of the district’s buildings and grounds committee, was eager to welcome the architects at Monday’s meeting.

“I think they were very, very good, and we’re excited to have them on the team,” DeAugustine said. “Obviously, we had a setback, but we’re moving forward with a stronger team. We have McKinley (Architecture and Engineering) as our owner’s rep, so that there’s no issues moving forward. They’re on our team, Crabtree’s on our team, and our team here is all moving in one direction.”

• Hempfield Area works through 'legal ramifications' in effort to use former architect's work for renovation

• Hempfield Area out $2.4M in payments to architectural firm for high school project

• As architect for Hempfield Area High School project resigns, district looks for new firm

Background

Hempfield paid Core Architects more than $2.4 million for work it completed before resigning. District officials said previously they wouldn’t know how much of Core’s work might be usable for the project until a legal separation was complete and the new architect was chosen. Rieffannacht said Monday the legal process is still in progress.

Core had been working with the district on the high school renovation since 2022.

The high school renovation renovation project has been on hold since August when bids for some of the proposed work revealed the project’s cost had ballooned to almost $150 million, nearly $20 million more than was projected.

The interior of the high school building was expected to be gutted and renovated over the course of the next three years, leaving most of the exterior intact with some additions.

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