In a stroke of irony, the recession has actually helped the Union Springs Central School District renovate its historic Stone Schoolhouse.

Falling commodity prices for steel and petroleum costs has changed the prognosis for renovating the condemned 150-year-old school building, said C&S Design Build, Inc. Vice President and General Manager Joseph Delaney.

C&S is the engineering and architectural firm with which the district contracted for its nearly $300,000 capital project to revitalize the schoolhouse.

After receiving final approval from the state Education Department last summer, the district sent out bid contracts to renovate the building, but only two contractors bid on the project and those bids came in more expensive than anticipated due to escalating construction costs.

C&S restructured the project to fit within the budget without impacting building functions, and put it back out to bid.

This time, Superintendent Linda Rice said, the district received eight bids, all under the target price.

The board of education awarded a bid to the Skaneateles-based James & Son

Construction Co. for a base cost of $192,000.

The construction firm also offered three alternatives that, because of the low bid, the district and engineering firm will complete, Delaney said.

Adding those three alternatives - restructuring one of the building's walls, stonework and installation of a fiber feed from the high school to the schoolhouse - the total construction costs will be approximately $220,000. Work is anticipated to begin by May 4 with a target completion target date of Aug. 31.

In December 2007, taxpayers overwhelmingly approved the capital project to renovate the building into a state-of-the-art media center, housing the current video technology course offered at the middle/high school as well as various other media and communications.

District leaders estimated the project's cost to be about $296,821. Of that amount, $207,433 was secured in building aid units - the cost of construction of an educational facility by square foot - from the Education Department and $77,888 was secured in EXCEL aid for the technology piece.

The district will borrow the remaining $11,500 with the taxpayers picking up the bill for $20,052 in capitalized interest which will be paid back over 16 years.

Staff writer Alyssa Sunkin can be reached at 253-5311 ext. 239 or alyssa.sunkin@lee.net