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Blair County Planning Commission members Thursday gave a favorable review to the Altoona Area School District's proposed plans to construct a new high school building.
The district is considering construction of a 103,600-square-foot high school building on the area where a current intramural practice field is located between Sixth and Seventh avenues.
The old high school B building, intramural practice field, tennis courts and physical plant are to be demolished as part of the plan.
In addition to the new high school building, a new intramural practice field will be constructed where the existing tennis courts and physical plant are located.
A building addition also will be added to the existing high school A building as well as two new pedestrian bridges linking the high school building and the junior high building.
There are four main components of the proposed $88 million project, including $48.1 million for the new building; $19.1 million for renovations to the A building and Altoona Area Public Library work; $7.8 million for demolishing the old B building and sitework; and $13 million for soft costs, such as professional fees, technology, security and construction contingencies, according to Reynolds construction and KCBA Architects.
The proposed parking lot will contain 149 spaces, which includes six Americans with Disabilities Act accessible spaces.
The parking lot will have two bidirectional access driveways: one connecting to Sixth Avenue and one connecting to Seventh Avenue.
However, planning commission members cited one problem.
The access driveway connecting to Seventh Avenue is within 50 feet of an intersection, which will not meet Altoona's development code requirements, said Jamie L. Klink, community planner.
"If site constraints allow, this access driveway should be shifted away from the intersection in order to comply with Altoona's requirements," Klink said.
Klink also said the plans do not include any bicycle parking.
"The developer should install bicycle parking facilities that will at a minimum, comply with Altoona's requirements, and we would recommend installing more than the minimum due to the nature of this development being a high school building," Klink said.
No peak hour vehicle trip estimates have been provided as part of the submission.
Although the project is not expected to lead to significantly higher vehicle trips, the commission recommends the school district consult with PennDOT and the city to determine any potential negative effects that this development may cause and whether a transportation impact study is required, Klink said.