Helen Thackston Charter School Facility Needs

Helen Thackston (“HCTS”), an EdisonLearning affiliated charter school, with an outstanding academic record, had run out of space at its existing location and needed a 60,000+ square foot facility to accommodate its expansion needs. The school believed it was impossible for the existing site to satisfy the school’s growth requirements.  This was in large part due to limitations of the site size as well as parking issues. Because of this, HCTS decided to move forward with a very expensive build-to-suit project. They planned on developing their new school building on the west side of York Township, and started workin with a local developer. 

Helen Thackston Charter School Facility Project

Helen Thackston’s leadership wanted a second opinion on their planned development project. So, they asked us to review the school’s proposed plans. They wanted to see if there were any other options available to the school. Within thirty days of analyzing the situation, CSPS provided HTCS with a compelling economic proposal to develop 40,828 square feet of new educational space. In addition to this, we also proposed renovating the existing 27,750 square foot building to create a total of 68,578 square feet of modern education space. All of this, we proposed to do at their present site.

Helen Thackston Charter School Facility Result

CSPS successfully acquired six separate residential properties. These properties surrounded the existing school site.  Therefore, this land acquisition provided the needed space to construct their new 40,828 square foot building. Included in these six properties was a 150-car parking lot two blocks away. We managed the entire design, entitlement and construction process. We started construction in late September of 2012, and the project was completed by August of 2013. The School saved millions of dollars by expanding on its existing site. Not to mention,  the local neighborhood rejoiced over not losing an important educational institution. 

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