Delays on new BCPS Central Office push occupancy date to next year

The new central office for Burke County Public Schools hit a snag in development, pushing the expected move-in date to February of next year and putting a hold on the county’s plans to renovate the space currently occupied by BCPS on East Parker Road in Morganton.

The delays stem from structural and design issues discovered by Neill Grading & Construction Co., Inc. while renovating the former Burke United Christian Ministries building.

While original plans kept many of the walls, sheetrock, and doors already in place, crews determined it would cost more to pull electrical wire and other utilities through existing walls than to pull the walls out and replace them.

“Once all of the walls were down and more of the building was exposed, we discovered issues such as more additions to the building than originally thought — six total additions — and floor levels that didn’t match,” said Cheryl Shuffler, the public relations officer for the school district.

“A soil test resulted in footers having to be dug and poured deeper than anticipated. Also, with original walls gone, the interior steel structure dimensions had to be revised and that delay has delayed getting some steel from the fabrication vendor to the site.”

The district reviewed historical permit records, inspections by the project architect, and assessments by its maintenance staff prior to planning the renovations, stating that it had “conducted the appropriate due diligence prior to purchasing the building” and “based on the information available at the time, there were no indications of the issues that have since been identified.”

“As with any older building, unforeseen conditions can emerge once renovation work begins and areas that were previously inaccessible are opened up,” Shuffler said. “That is one of the realities of renovating existing facilities. For that reason, the district included contingency funding in the project budget to address unexpected issues should they arise.”

The total project was expected to cost a little more than $10 million, and despite the delays and additional work, the district doesn’t expect the renovations to go over budget.

A TIMELINE BREAKDOWN

After McKissick Associates Architects out of Winston-Salem earned approval as the district’s architect in November 2024, the district began submitting site layout plans and contracting out for selective demolition in early to mid-2025, with a goal move-in date set for June 2026.

Shuffler said the district received an update from the architect in late October 2025, pushing the occupancy date from June 2026 to Oct. 1, 2026, due to sanitary line replacement, federal tariff impacts, and HVAC equipment mandate changes.

The BCPS Board of Education notified Neill Construction of the intent to award them the contract in early November, but didn’t sign the contract until Dec. 15, setting a one-year timeline for occupancy and pushing the expected date to Dec. 15, 2026.

Then, the construction crews alerted the district to the uncovered issues.

According to reports in May, the county expected the design phase of the Human Resources building to be finished by June, but renovations can’t begin until BCPS staff are out.

Shuffler said Superintendent Dr. Mike Swan is keeping the county manager’s office updated on the timeline, and the district and county are working together in the meantime.

Despite the building being a shell flanked with steel posts and no exterior facade as of June, Shuffler said, “We are confident we will be in by mid-February, if not before.”