When voters in Bryan ISD approved a bond package in November 2020, the district’s new transportation and maintenance center was supposed to be built and opened in July 2022.
After three proposed sites were rejected, Bryan ISD school board members approved buying land from Blinn College at Leonard Road and Harvey Mitchell Parkway.
The 95 acres is currently zoned for Blinn’s proposed west Bryan campus that was never built because Blinn chose to locate at Texas A&M’s RELLIS campus.
Bryan ISD’s school board failed in its first rezoning attempt before the Bryan planning and zoning commission (P&Z) in August.
A second attempt on September 1 ended when P&Z tabled the request to September 15 to process information that BISD presented at the last minute.
Click HERE to read and download information from the September 1, 2022 Bryan P&Z commission meeting.
During the September 1 meeting, P&Z member John Bush questioned if what he calls BISD’s “industrial use” is the best option for 95 acres of what he described as “high value land”.
P&Z members wanted the building to be built more than 550 feet from the intersection. BISD construction director Paul Buckner said that would cost another $9 million dollars. That led P&Z chairman Leo Gonzalez to suggest seeking city assistance and/or BISD selling the property closer to the main streets to offset the district’s increased costs.
BISD board members had their first opportunity to review the September 1 P&Z meeting the following Tuesday as part of an executive session on several topics. The board adjourned without taking action after the 90 minute discussion behind closed doors.
Before that, BISD board members were presented an update on the impact the delay is having on the new transportation and maintenance complex, as well as the construction of the district’s third intermediate school, which shares part of the footprint with the current bus facility.
BISD construction director Paul Buckner says they have put on hold until further notice, ordering rooftop HVAC units for the complex and awarding the construction contract.
Buckner says the new Sadberry intermediate school will be open for fifth graders in the fall of 2023. The board has spent $750,000 dollars to delay construction at Sadberry where BISD buses are located. The delay impacts the construction of back parking lots, a play field, and covered basketball courts.
Buckner said the new transportation and maintenance facility has to be open by February 2024 to finish construction at Sadberry.
Click below for comments from the September 1, 2022 Bryan P&Z commission meeting and the September 6, 2022 Bryan ISD school board meeting: