New Maine West gym opens; what's next?
As Maine West High School's new 23,000-square-foot gymnasium addition opens to students for the first time, the school district already is looking ahead to its next major capital projects.
Maine Township High School District 207 officials say construction of the $10.4 million addition, which wrapped up over winter break, was long overdue since the Des Plaines school's athletic facilities were nearly five decades old.
The new space includes locker rooms, a dance studio, a wrestling room and a fitness center.
"The place looks great," said Superintendent Ken Wallace. "It is easily the nicest fitness center in the district."
The expansion allows for relocation of Maine West's weight room from the basement, under the school cafeteria, to the expanded athletic building, attached to the spectator gym on the southeast side of campus.
Last March, the school board approved a construction contract with Happ Builders for $9.8 million. The total cost is $10.4 million, taking into account items added during the course of the project, such as storm sewer wor and removing lead paint from steel roof support joists.
The district paid for the project with annual revenue from property taxes and state funds and by dipping into a portion of a $70 million reserve fund.
Wallace called the school's old basement fitness room "disgusting," which he says speaks to the needs of modernizing all three high school buildings, the oldest of which (Maine East) is 86 years old.
The district is now looking to borrow $15 million for capital projects at the three schools, scheduled to begin during the summer of 2017 and be complete by the end of 2018. The most expensive project is replacement of Maine West's original boiler - now 57 years old - that will be replaced with a high-efficiency condensing boiler system. The project also calls for a new chiller.
Together, the work is estimated to cost $6.8 million.
The district also plans to replace Maine South's 51-year-old boiler. It's estimated to cost $5 million because of less asbestos removal required than at West.
At Maine East, plans call for replacement of air handling units, some more than 60 years old, for $3.1 million.
On Monday night, the school board approved an application for qualified school construction bonds, which if approved by the state would allow District 207 to borrow $15 million at little to no interest.
The one-time program, part of the 2009 federal stimulus package, calls for the federal government to provide a tax credit to the bond issuer, thus making the net interest rate very low to District 207, officials said.
The program requires schools to spend the money within 36 months of applying for the federal bond program. District 207 officials say they believe they can design and make the capital upgrades in that time frame.
Already, the district has mailed out requests for qualifications for architects, one of which could be chosen by the school board in March.
Officials expect to hear from the state by June whether the district has been approved under the bond program.
In addition, the district is planning some $3.5 million in building improvements this summer, which is less than the $5 million typically spent on summer upgrades. The work includes $700,000 to tear off Maine East's fine arts wing roof and repair the auditorium roof; $620,000 for a new Maine South cafeteria roof and repairing the A-wing roof; and at Maine West, $350,000 to pave the West Drive and D and E lots.