Leet planning commission to discuss proposed Quaker Valley High School plans

Quaker Valley area residents will soon have another opportunity to weigh in on a proposed high school in Leet.

The township’s planning commission is expected to discuss the final site plan at 6 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 25 at the municipal building, 194 Ambridge Ave.

A link to the site plan was posted on the front page of the township’s website, leettownship.org.

The proposed 167,000-square-foot school is on 150 acres of land off Camp Meeting Road. The district property straddles Leet Township, Edgeworth and Leetsdale. However, the school itself will be in the township.

School district officials in September set the maximum building construction costs for the proposed high school at about $72.1 million and the maximum project cost at $105 million.

Planning commission chairman Joe Ferrang said engineers from Lennon Smith Souleret Engineering and special counsel Harlan Stone were reviewing the site plans.

“The commission hasn’t seen what the comments are,” Ferrang said. “Once we get the comments, we’ll be discussing it. I’m sure there will be a lot of people at the meeting.”

Several members of the district’s design team are expected to be on hand.

“We are so proud of the extensive work we have completed with the help of the architects and engineers,” said district superintendent Tammy Andreyko. “They have been receptive to input from our teachers and staff as we dreamed of the future home of Quaker Valley High School, and we are well-prepared to take this next step in the process.”

The planning commission is a recommending body. Formal approvals and required permits would be authorized by the township commissioners.

Ferrang said he’s unsure if the planning commission will be ready to take action on the district’s plans this month, or if their recommendations would be pushed to February.

Charlie Gauthier, district director of facilities and administrative services, said his team will be ready for the meeting.

“We are looking forward to this next phase of the process as we share the details of our designs and the engineering behind them with the public and planning commission,” Gauthier said. “We know that the new Quaker Valley High School will meet the needs of our students for many years to come.”

More information about the project is available on the district’s website under the Blueprint QV section of the “District” tab.

The current high school was built in 1926 and has undergone several renovations through the years.