The University of Pittsburgh at Bradford needed space. St. Bernard School has it.
Pitt-Bradford is growing. St. Bernard School’s enrollment is dwindling.
On paper, it seemed like a match. In reality, it didn’t work out.
On Tuesday, St. Bernard’s officials announced the deal fell through, and the Catholic school would be closing. On Friday, Pitt-Bradford officials released a statement outlining the reasons behind the decision.
“Last spring, Pitt-Bradford officials entered into discussions with St. Bernard Parish representatives about the possibility of purchasing and then renovating the school, which would give the university much-needed space to house potential new academic programs as well as enhance existing programs,” a university release stated.
UPB officials hired Pittsburgh architectural firm MacLachlan, Cornelius & Filoni to conduct a feasibility study to examine two possible options: purchasing and renovating St. Bernard School or building a new building on campus.
According to that study, the total estimated cost to renovate St. Bernard School to meet the university’s program needs, as well as all building code requirements, would exceed $34.1 million.
The estimated cost to construct a new building on campus would be $22.2 million.
“We extensively reviewed the report and concluded that purchasing St. Bernard School was not a realistic option,” said Lawrence Feick, Pitt-Bradford’s interim president, in a prepared statement.
Some of the most significant disparities in cost estimates between the two options were in replacing the plumbing, electrical and heating, ventilating and air conditioning systems in the school building. For example, the architects estimated it would cost $4.2 million to upgrade the school’s existing HVAC, compared to $2.7 million to install an HVAC system in a new building.
Additionally, the estimated cost for interior construction at St. Bernard School was $1.6 million more than it would be for a new building, and site work at the current school was estimated to cost more than $1.5 million than for that at a new building.
“Taking all of those costs into consideration, we will be pursuing a new building on campus for our academic needs,” Feick said.
As far as a location for the facility, university spokeswoman Pat Frantz Cercone said late Friday, “The proposed new building would be located to the right of Hanley Library and directly across the lawn from Rice House.”
It’s too early in the process to give any details on when the project might begin, she explained.
“We do not have a firm date since this is a lengthy process and involves many steps,” Cercone said.
In August, Pitt-Bradford received $2 million from the state to help develop a facility that would house labs, shops, classrooms and other specialized spaces, making it possible for the university to offer new academic programs and enhance existing ones in the STEM fields —- science, technology, engineering and math.
The Era reached out to the Diocese of Erie Friday for comments on the future of the school building, but did not receive an immediate response.
In his comments earlier in the week, the Rev. Ray Gramata of St. Bernard talked about how the decision was reached to close the school.
“The school building is costly,” Gramata said. And the demographics of the region show a dwindling population, and with that, declining enrollment. The entire school building on West Washington Street, which was once Bradford Central Christian High School, is housing only 52 students.
“All of the schools are going through it because of the demographics,” Gramata said. “After college, the kids don’t stay here. They go where the jobs are.”
The school will stay open to the end of the current school year.
