An auxiliary gym is proposed for Butler Senior High School.

BUTLER TWP — The township planning commission on Tuesday approved the Butler Area School District's land development plan for building an auxiliary gym at the senior high school campus.

The commission's approval of the 11,000-square-foot, prefabricated steel building for the gym will be forwarded to the township commissioners for final approval. The commissioners' next meeting is May 17 at 6:30 p.m.

The potential cost of the project will become clear after the district opens bids Thursday for general, electrical, mechanical and plumbing construction contracts. The school board could award the contracts at its meeting on May 17 at 7:30 p.m.

Construction is expected to begin this summer and take about eight months to complete, Superintendent Brian White said Tuesday before the planning commission meeting.

The auxiliary gym will have seating for 350 spectators, locker rooms, restrooms and a fire-suppression sprinkler system, said Adam Yaracs, project manager with IKM Architecture of Pittsburgh. Most of the building will have a blue metal siding exterior, except for the locker room and restroom area, which will have concrete block walls.

The building will be constructed to the left of the existing gym and extend into a paved courtyard or playground area, said Jesse Hines, township zoning officer.

The building will not add area that is impervious to rain, so it won't increase the amount of storm water runoff, Yaracs said.

The district's existing storm water management system will handle the runoff, said Graham Ferry of Sheffler and Company Inc., the district's engineering firm.

Yaracs said parking isn't an issue either because the auxiliary gym will be used after school hours and on weekends.

Construction of the auxiliary gym is the first phase of a longer term plan to close the middle school, White said.

More classroom space will eventually be added to accommodate middle school students, he said.