Suburban students return to new facilities and campus upgrades this fall

New facilities, additions and campus improvements will greet students returning to classrooms across the suburbs this month as summer construction projects wrap up in some school districts and new ones are beginning in others.

At Elgin Area School District U-46, the state’s second-largest school district spanning three counties, the transformation is visible districtwide. It includes major renovations at two middle schools that will debut when classes start later this month and additional spaces for prekindergarten and early childhood education in several elementary school buildings. Workers also will break ground on a new elementary school in Elgin this fall.

District officials held a ribbon cutting and open house last week to showcase finished renovations and a 46,000-square-foot addition at Kenyon Woods Middle School in South Elgin. And Wednesday, another ceremony will mark completion of renovations and a 53,000-square-foot addition at Kimball Middle School in Elgin.

Both projects play a key role in U-46’s shift to a middle school model in which sixth graders join seventh and eighth graders in the same building starting this school year.

The total capital investment districtwide is $380 million, of which $179 million was secured through voter approval in 2023, said Ann Williams, the district’s new capital strategy and operations officer.

“We have been vigorously working on improvements throughout the district since that time,” she said. “This is more than than just construction, it is about creating safe and modern learning environments that create better support for our students and our staff.”

As part of the work, Hawk Hollow Middle School in Bartlett, which was converted from an elementary building last year, will be fully utilized this school year by sixth through eighth graders.

Construction of a new elementary school in Elgin is set to begin Sept. 9. at the site of the former David C. Cook property, 850 N. Grove Ave. The school will replace McKinley Elementary, which dates to 1887 and is located a half-mile away.

“A significant portion of our investments associated with the capital improvements were in the city of Elgin, so we're really excited about the projects on that side of the district,” Williams said. “An additional project in Elgin was actually annexed in because it was unincorporated … and that project is the new Legacy Middle School. That project will be complete by December of this year, and it will open next year.”

Legacy will be a three-story middle school in the heart of a primarily residential neighborhood.

“So the communities have had the opportunity to watch it be built from the ground up, which is really nice,” Williams said.

Meanwhile, Illinois Park Elementary School in Elgin, which was an early childhood center, is reopening this year with an addition to accommodate a larger cafeteria space and multi-purpose room for students. The work will be completed later in the fall.

“There are a lot of buildings that are impacted,” Williams said. “A lot of families that will be impacted. And in addition to that, in efforts to balance our class sizes, we did update all of our boundaries, so there will be some changes that families will need to get used to, but a lot of exciting spaces that they will be able to enjoy as a result.”

Elsewhere in Kane County, Kaneland Unit District 302 has completed several key updates at the high school and elementary schools with additional long-term projects underway.

About $140 million in facilities improvements, funded through a successful referendum in April 2025, include renovated classrooms and hallways, and modernized restrooms at Kaneland High School in Maple Park, and updated playgrounds at district elementary schools.

“This referendum is an essential investment by our community, actively improving teaching and learning across Kaneland,” Kaneland Superintendent Kurt Rohlwing said. “Beyond refreshed classrooms and playgrounds, the transformation continues as we repurpose underutilized spaces into state-of-the-art Career and Technical Education (CTE) labs, update our science facilities, and complete the new field house for PE, athletics, and community events.”

Site work has begun on a new roughly $51 million high school field house, maintenance facility, and transportation center. The field house is scheduled for completion by fall 2027 and the planned $6 million conversion of Kaneland High School’s West Gym into future career and technical education labs will begin in summer 2027.

“We will also be renovating our football stadium next summer making it more modernized and adding seating,” said David Chavez, director of communications for District 302.

Upgrades at other districts

Aurora-based Indian Prairie Unit District 204 is in the midst of a districtwide facilities overhaul.

The projects are funded through $420 million in bonds voters approved in 2024. They include renovations at Waubonsie Valley High School in Aurora, Neuqua Valley High School in Naperville, Metea Valley High School in Aurora, the Birkett Freshman Center and Gregory and Hill middle schools, along with districtwide safety and security upgrades, LED lighting installations and other infrastructure projects.

This summer, significant renovations were made at Waubonsie Valley and Neuqua Valley high schools and secure entryways constructed at some district schools. Some of the projects are slated to be finished in time for school starting Monday.

Des Plaines District 62 is spending about $30 million for construction related to the implementation of all-day kindergarten classes, which launches this month.

The work began in 2025 at Iroquois Community School and continued late last year at Central Elementary School. Work at North Elementary is underway. Five kindergarten classes, two general classrooms, two music rooms and other facilities are being added there and the work is expected to wrap up in October, according to the district’s website.

Six other elementary schools are getting upgrades for full-day kindergarten classes as well. Construction of inclusive playgrounds for kindergartners also will be completed this fall.

An artificial turf athletic field and security upgrades are among the big-ticket projects in Maine Township High School District 207. The $3.5 million stadium turf was installed earlier this month at Maine West High School in Des Plaines, replacing a grass field.

At Mundelein High School District 120, two milestones were achieved in a $199.5 million, multiyear facilities improvement project.

On the campus at Hawley Street and Midlothian Road, a new addition with eight classrooms on the west side is nearly complete and will be ready Sept. 8. Kitchen/cafeteria renovations won't be completely finished but the space will be operational and functional when students return. And at the former Village Green golf course, which the district is converting to athletic facilities, tennis courts were completed and hosted their first competitors this week.

With the exception of a few punch list items, an upgrade and expansion of the outdated 1950s-era Libertyville High School cafeteria is mostly complete and operational. The project was beset by delays due to unforeseen conditions including unsuitable soil on which key elements of the new structures were to be placed. The estimated cost is at $16.7 million but not finalized, according to school officials. That total included previously completed upgrades to bathrooms in another part of the building.

At Hawthorn Elementary District 73 in Vernon Hills, the library and front office were refreshed as part of a roughly $2.5 million summer renovation project at Middle School South. School officials say projects were designed to create modern, functional space to promote engagement and success while enhancing safety and security for students and staff.

Renovations at Glenbard North High School in Carol Stream include improvements to classrooms, science lab and fine arts spaces, cafeteria expansion, and creating a learning commons area to support diverse students.

mkrishnamurthy@dailyherald.com

Daily Herald staff writer Mick Zawislak contributed to this report.