The Mobile County school board has taken a major step forward in the long-running effort to restore Murphy High School, approving nearly $9.7 million in construction contracts for two separate projects at the historic Midtown campus.
Board members signed off on the bids during a Monday meeting, awarding the larger contract, worth roughly $8.6 million, to Rod Cooke Construction for renovation of Murphy’s main academic building. A second contract worth about $1.1 million went to Youngblood-Barrett Construction & Engineering to build a new band room for the school’s music program.
According to Tommy Sheffield, the school system’s executive facilities manager, work on the main building renovation will not begin immediately. Contractors still need roughly six to eight weeks to secure the necessary permits before construction can start. In the meantime, students attending classes in the main building are expected to be relocated to portable classrooms within the next couple of weeks, well ahead of when heavy construction begins.
Once underway, the main building renovation is expected to take about 18 months to finish. Sheffield noted that the extended timeline partly reflects an effort to minimize disruptions to the school day, since crews will need to work around students and staff still using the campus. The new band room project is on a somewhat faster track, with construction expected to start later in the fall and take between nine and twelve months to complete.
Both projects fall under what the school system refers to as its “Phase II” repairs, the next stage of rebuilding following the EF-1 tornado that tore through the Midtown area on December 25, 2012, and left extensive damage across the historic Murphy campus.
Sheffield said the broader restoration effort at Murphy is expected to continue for at least three more years. Next up on the list are the Lois Jean Delaney Auditorium and the school’s fine arts building, both of which are moving into the design phase. The auditorium’s exterior has already been patched, but the interior presents a far bigger challenge. The storm damaged the roof structure and the plaster ceiling, and any renovation will require installing new sprinkler systems along with updates to the restrooms and stage area to meet current building codes, including accessibility requirements for individuals with disabilities.
Sheffield explained that some older features may be allowed to remain under grandfather provisions in the code, but others will need to be brought up to modern standards. He said the district is trying to balance those requirements with the need to preserve the auditorium’s historic character while staying within budget. Funding for the ongoing repairs is expected to remain in place through 2016, following a $15 million appropriation approved by the Alabama legislature in May 2013.
The restoration hasn’t been without setbacks. In the weeks immediately after the tornado, the campus became a target for scavengers who made off with a number of distinctive terra cotta roof tiles from the damaged buildings. More recently, around 20 copper downspouts, each valued between $500 and $1,000, were reported stolen from the site.
Sheffield expressed frustration over the thefts, noting that restoring the building to meet historic preservation standards is costly enough without added losses from theft. He said the district plans to continue the repairs while working to keep a closer watch over materials and equipment at the construction site going forward.