Bond Work & Sinking Fund Project Update: April 2024
With the passing of the August 2023 Bond, Berkley Schools teams are busy planning for upcoming construction projects. In addition to the Bond projects, the District has a list of Sinking Fund projects that are also in the works to improve and update our facilities. The Sinking Fund was approved by voters in 2018. Because both Bond and Sinking Fund projects are ongoing, these monthly updates will include details on both.
This month’s update includes important details on Hurley Field and parking, updates on a large classroom furniture purchase, construction dates for the new maintenance building, two updates on new property acquisitions which will expand the District’s property footprint and updates on all Phase I construction plans.
These monthly Bond & Sinking Fund updates will be maintained on the District’s website. See below for updates on the Phase I projects that are taking place in 2024 and 2025.
Project Updates
Design
District-wide Furniture Purchase - Bond
At the April 8, 2024, Board of Education Regular Meeting, the Board of Education approved the purchase of new classroom furniture District-wide. This first phase of the furniture purchase includes all TK-12 classrooms. It does not yet include specialized spaces like science labs, offices and media centers. The total cost for the Phase I Furniture project which includes student desks, student chairs, teacher desks, teacher chairs, multiple classroom storage options and flexible seating is $4,447,708.07. Next, the Teaching and Learning team will work with Interior Environments to finalize the remaining spaces. All Phase I furniture will now be sent to manufacturing and will be installed prior to the 2024-25 school year.
Hurley Field Update - Bond & Sinking Fund
Phase I of the Hurley Field construction is part of a larger Bond and Sinking Fund project.
Turf and Track Update: Contractors have resumed work at Hurley Field on the track, removing the asphalt and placing the new aggregate base in preparation for the new track asphalt. You can see a video on Superintendent Francis’ Instagram page.
Parking Update - Bond: The AMS parking lot expansion has been delayed to the Phase II Hurley Field work planned for Summer 2026. The District professional partners advised against going out to bid this spring due to the current high cost bidding environment. In addition, with the future work scheduled at Hurley Field, the Team did not want to pave a new parking lot and then have heavy construction trucks drive over, and possibly damage, the new concrete. The plans for the project are complete and include creating separate entrance and exit points, a drop off and pick up outer loop and doubling the available parking spaces.
Phase 1: Burton & Pattengill Multi-Purpose Additions - Bond
Burton & Pattengill Multi-Purpose additions plans are in the refining stage. The District Bond team and professional partners have refined the scope of work including talking about material finishes. The professional team is now working on refining the drawings and estimates for the work. Final review will take place prior to the projects going out to bid in June/July. With this work, both schools will have additional work done on their gymnasiums and playgrounds. Both projects should break ground in October 2024.
Phase 1: BHS Performing Arts Wing - Bond
Design team meetings are complete for the Berkley High School’s Performing Arts. The architects will now take feedback from the design teams and create refined drawings. Those will be presented to the District Bond team for a detailed review in March and April.
Phase 1: BHS Science Wing - Bond
Design team meetings are complete for the Berkley High School’s Science Wing. The architects will now take feedback from the design teams and create refined drawings. Those will be presented to the District Bond team for a detailed review at the end of March and into April.
Phase 1: BHS BEAR Complex - Bond
The District Field House is now named The BEAR Complex (The Berkley Education, Athletics and Recreation Complex). The District Bond team will review early estimates for The BEAR Complex in April. After estimate review, the team will refine the plans with the professional partners to ensure budget alignment, and then the project will head to final review. It is expected for this project to break ground in April 2025.
Phase 1: BHS Pool - Bond
The professional teams are working on plans and drawings for the space and will meet with the BHS Pool Design Team to refine the work. Pool updates will take place during Summer 2025.
Maintenance Building - Sinking Fund
The new Maintenance building will be located at the Administrative Offices site in Oak Park, at the end of the parking lot, just north of the Norup playground. The Board of Education approved the vendors for the work and the project is expected to begin late May/early June. The plan includes the Maintenance Building being completed by late Fall 2024.
Baseball/Softball Fields - Sinking Fund
The District is planning to add a new home varsity softball field on the Tyler Field, just north of Berkley Building Blocks. The design team, along with Foresite Design, is working on design details. This new varsity field would include lights, dugouts, concession area and a permanent outfield fence. The work is also being planned to include an outdoor restroom location near the field. Update: The planning work for the softball field and collaboration with the City of Oak Park for park improvements continues.
Planning and discussions are continuing for baseball field upgrades.
Technology - Bond
New interactive flat panels and new classroom sound systems have been installed in all classrooms at Burton and Pattengill along with new clocks. New interactive flat panels are being installed at Angell one grade band at a time and then the team will move to Rogers in May. The Technology team is working with the District vendor to plan out the timeline for the rest of the school installations as well.
Property Acquisition
Cana Lutheran Church
On March 12, the District sent an email to the Berkley Schools community sharing that the Board of Education had approved a purchase agreement for Cana Lutheran Church located at 2119 Catalpa, adjacent to the Berkley High School campus. The Cana site will house both the Adult Transition Program and BHS Robotics program. The church will be purchased and renovated using Sinking Fund dollars. The purchasing process has continued to move forward and the closing date is set for April 30. After closing, the District will take possession of the property and can begin renovations.
This purchase and program changes are different from what was originally proposed with the Bond, but the District did not want to miss the opportunity to create a permanent home for both Adult Transition and Robotics, expand the improvements and upgrades for the athletics programs and acquire new property for the District.
Franklin Property
At the April 8, 2024, meeting, the Board of Education approved a purchase agreement for a house located at 2329 Franklin Road, Berkley, MI. The house, which sits on the corner of Franklin St and Berkley Ave, is adjacent to the field across from Berkley High School. Purchasing this property allows the District to expand the high school campus and support school and District programs.
Team Meetings
The District teams participate in Steering Committee meetings twice a month with Stantec (architecture, engineering, design), McCarthy & Smith (construction management), and SES (engineering and mechanical systems) to plan timelines of construction, prepare bid documents, as well as pour over details of the scopes of work. Each project has a standard sequence of work: design phase, project cost estimating, bidding for contractors, awarding contracts, construction phase (demolition and building) and finally, project completion.
