MFISD hires new architect for bond projects
This map shows the general layout of several new, major bond projects slated for Marble Falls High School. The Marble Falls Independent School District recently hired a new architecture firm to handle the millions of dollars in bond projects after parting ways with its previous firm over inaccurate cost estimates. Google images
Marble Falls Independent School District has selected Huckabee & Associates, Inc. as the new architect for its 2025 bond projects, following the dismissal of Pfluger Architects last month. With the new firm on board, millions of dollars worth bond projects are now back on track.
The board replaced Pfluger Architects after the firm underestimated the cost of the high school baseball field, which ballooned from a projected $6.5 million to more than $10 million. Huckabee & Associates, which also worked with MFISD in 2018, will now take the lead on the district’s $172.2 million bond projects, including the baseball field, softball field renovation, band hall updates, multipurpose facility, with the goal of keeping the projects on budget and minimizing delays.
The new contract closely mirrors the 2018 bond agreement between Huckabee and MFISD, and is nearly identical to the previous architect’s terms, Superintendent Gasaway told the Board of Trustees during a Dec. 8 special meeting.
“I appreciate Huckabee being so easy to work with in getting this contract ready to present to the board before the break,” Gasaway said in a media release. “I look forward to working with them as we continue to move forward on the 2025 Bond projects.”
Jason Andrus, lead architect at Huckabee, said the district’s top priority is getting the baseball field project back on track. He noted that the original design requires minimal adjustments, and with permits already secured, construction could begin as early as February 2026 and be completed by next summer. The field was initially projected for completion in February 2026.
The gross maximum price for the baseball field is estimated at slightly above the original projected cost but remains well below the $10 million from the previous architect. Cost savings from other projects will help offset some of the difference.
“We appreciate Huckabee & Associates for coming alongside us and picking up these projects to ensure they are done well and completed within the Bond budgets,” Board President Alex Payson said in a media release.
Renovations to the softball field are ongoing with American Constructors, a firm Huckabee has worked with previously, and turf is planned to be laid next week, keeping the project on track for the upcoming season.
Some delays are expected, however. The $26.05 million multi-purpose field, originally planned for summer 2027, now has an uncertain timeline and a potential revised projected cost.
Last month, the district approved to move forward on the installation of a new scoreboard at Marble Falls High School before the Class of 2025-26 graduation, the purchase of nine school buses, and the replacement of roofs across district properties.