Nearly $200 million Mundelein High School improvement plan underway
Construction is in high gear on the Mundelein High School campus, with one project near completion and groundwork for eight new classrooms and associated spaces moving along.
The interior renovation of the school annex building, set to become the Mundelein Transition Center, is expected to be complete by the end of the month, and delivery of structural steel for the classroom addition expected in mid-August.
They are the first two projects in a four-phased $199.5 million undertaking made possible when voters in November approved a Mundelein High School District 120 plan to borrow $149.6 million for improvements.
The district also is allocating $50 million non-referendum dollars to the project, with a target completion of September 2028.
The work is designed to upgrade aging infrastructure in the school that was built in 1961. Improvements are focused on common areas that were part of the original school — such as the cafeteria, kitchen, gym and auditorium — and providing enhanced instructional space.
“It's going well,” said Kevin Quinn, the district's director of facilities and maintenance. “We're making pretty good time.”
The west side of the school building was a hub of activity Monday, with grading and earth removal ongoing, as well as work associated with new or relocated natural gas and electric lines.
The district plans to have a new bus lane and temporary entrance built to keep students safe when classes resume next month.
“We're trying to minimize the impact on the day-to-day (routine) for everybody,” Quinn said.
The classroom addition is expected to take about a year to build and be ready for the 2026-27 school year.
“This project represents so much more than upgraded buildings and modernized classrooms,” school board President Peter Rastrelli said during a ceremonial groundbreaking in April. “It's about creating an environment where students can thrive.”
Work started in March to repurpose the former high school annex, built in 1965 as Kirk of the Lakes church, as the District 120 Transition Center. The center will help young adults with special needs learn life skills, get vocational training and receive job support.
Quinn said the annex originally was built with no provisions for school code, so new electric, water piping, mechanical systems, air handling and more had to be upgraded to modern specifications.
Savings on steel and other factors resulted in a cost $620,000 below the budgeted amount for the first phase, according to a district update.
Soil from the classroom site is being stockpiled on the district-owned Village Green golf course, which will be converted to athletic fields as part of the second phase. That phase also includes construction of a field house, gym and cafeteria beginning in May 2026.