Bond Work & Sinking Fund Project Update: September 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. 

The September update includes construction updates on the new maintenance building, photos of the completed Hurley Field, photos of the new classroom furniture, renderings and construction timelines for Burton and Pattengill’s additions, timelines for BHS, The BEAR Complex and the ATP & Robotics space, and technology updates.

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

Maintenance Building - Sinking Fund

The new Maintenance building is located at the Administrative Offices site in Oak Park, at the end of the parking lot, just north of the Norup playground. Construction has begun! The concrete floor slab has been poured, the outside panels are being installed and underground plumbing and electrical is complete. Construction is currently following the timeline and the building is anticipated to be completed by the end of December 2024.

Hurley Field Turf and Track Update - Sinking Fund - Summer 2024

The new turf and track installation is complete! Hurley Field reopened on Tuesday, September 3. Hurley Field will be open to the public before and after school hours (school hours are 8 am - 3:30 pm) and outside of school events. If there is a school event taking place, we ask the public to refrain from entering the facility.

District-wide Furniture Purchase - Bond - Summer 2024

All new classroom furniture as part of Phase I was installed before students arrived. The new furniture includes student desks, student chairs, teacher desks, teacher chairs, multiple classroom storage options and flexible seating. The District is working with its furniture vendor to complete any needed repairs and/or punch list items over the next two weeks. Phase II of the furniture project is for specialized spaces (specialized classrooms, art rooms, media centers, for example). They will receive their new furniture later this year. Science classrooms will receive new furniture next summer in conjunction with the BHS science labs renovations.

Phase 1: Burton & Pattengill Multi-Purpose Additions - Bond - Fall 2024

Burton & Pattengill multi-purpose/cafeteria additions plans are complete. Contractors were selected at the August Board of Education meeting, bids came in under budget and planning for the construction staging areas has begun. Detailed timelines are below to prepare the community for the construction season.

Burton

• Burton’s new multi-purpose addition will be attached to the building at the northeast corner of the playground by the gym.
• Half of Burton’s playground (east side) and parking lot will be fenced off by mid-October to prepare for construction. The playground doors will remain open with the construction fence just to the east.
• Construction fencing will also go up on the field inside the track, to prepare for a new playground area. 
• Due to the location of the addition, some Burton playground equipment (swings, monkey bars, tubes, shade sails) will move to inside the track permanently. 
• The street-side parking on Nadine plus the sidewalk will remain open through November/December. 
• Once the new playground area is completed in the field, the Nadine parking lot and sidewalk adjacent to the parking lot will be closed to the public through the end of August 2025. At that time, Burton families and students will use a gate near the field for drop off and pick up.
• As construction dates get solidified, we will share them with the Burton and Huntington Woods community so everyone is prepared for the full construction season.

Pattengill

• Pattengill’s new multi-purpose/cafeteria addition will be attached to the building at the north doors, in the current concrete area.
• Pattengill’s construction fencing will encompass the concrete area outside of the north doors through the baseball field. In addition, the construction fencing will hug the sidewalk in the grassy area between the playground and building for work on the new underground water drainage system. The construction fencing will be added mid-October.
• Pattengill students will access the playground through the 5th grade doors only.
• A large portion of the field will be blocked off for construction staging, however, students will have access to a portion of the field for recess.
• A new concrete area will be poured to the south of the playground as part of the later construction plans.
• In addition to the multi-purpose addition, the District is adding parking spaces near the baseball field on Royal as part of the construction.
• The overhang outside of the north doors will be removed off school hours before construction begins to abate asbestos.
• During construction, both Royal and Oakshire will have short time periods where the streets will have construction to tie into the building projects. We will notify the community ahead of time when these projects are slated to begin.
• As construction dates get solidified, we will share them with the Pattengill community so everyone is prepared for the full construction season.

Phase 1: BHS Performing Arts Wing - Bond - Spring 2025

Berkley High School’s Performing Arts Bond team is finalizing and confirming details as the professional partners prepare the documents to send the job out to bid. The Performing Arts wing updates include the Auditorium complete renovation, Auditorium lobby addition, the Black Box Theatre/Choir Classroom addition, a new instrument commons and upgrades to both the Band and Orchestra rooms as well as upgrading practice rooms. All BHS projects will go to bid together in September. This work will begin in the Spring 2025 (Black Box in March, Auditorium in May) and is scheduled for completion in early 2026.

Phase 1: BHS Science Wing - Bond - Summer 2025

The BHS Science Wing planning and drawings are complete. The science work includes a complete renovation and redesign for the lab spaces, updates to chemical storage rooms, and creating new lab spaces. The Science Wing will be packaged along with the rest of the BHS projects and will go to bid in September. The Science Wing project timeline includes work beginning once school is complete in June 2025 and the labs reopening in September 2025.

Phase 1: BHS BEAR Complex - Bond - Spring 2025

The District Field House is now named The BEAR Complex (The Berkley Education, Athletics and Recreation Complex). The BEAR Complex includes a 60-yard indoor fieldhouse that includes a new weight room, team room and trainer room, an outdoor 120-yard turf performance field with lights, parking lot expansion and new configuration, and a grass field north of the turf field. The project is out to bid now and bids are due on September 19. Work will begin during the month of April 2025.

Phase 1: BHS Pool - Bond - Spring/Summer 2025

The professional teams are working on finalizing plans for the space to prepare the work for the bid documents. Pool updates include a new HVAC system, new starting blocks, new diving board, updating tile areas, redoing the pool office and restroom and updates to the chemical system. The pool will be packaged along with the rest of the BHS projects and will go to bid in September. Pool updates will take place during Summer 2025.

ATP & Robotics at former Cana Lutheran Church - Spring 2025

The Bond and Sinking Fund team is working with the District’s architects and construction management team to plan the construction for the new Adult Transition Program (ATP) and Robotics spaces. The team has refined the plans, selected finishes and the scope of work. The work for both of these projects will be bundled with the BHS Bond projects and will go to bid in September 2024. The goal is to have ATP in their new space by August 2025 for the start of the school year and Robotics soon after and prior to their 2025 build season. Asbestos abatement will take place in some of the building in November.

Baseball/Softball Fields - Sinking Fund - Timeline TBD

The District team is working to build both a varsity softball and varsity baseball field on its Oak Park property (Norup fields, Administrative Offices, Tyler Park area). The District is working with landscape architects, engineers and a construction team to finalize locations, construction plans and a budget for each field. Baseball and softball fields would include lights, dugouts and a permanent outfield fence. The work is also being planned to include an outdoor restroom location near the fields. The team is collaborating with the City of Oak Park as it finalizes plans to coordinate the upgrades to Tyler Park, a jointly owned space.

Technology - Bond

New interactive flat panels and new classroom sound systems have been installed in all classrooms at Angell, Burton, Pattengill, Rogers, Norup and Anderson along with new clocks. Berkley High School is up next. In addition, the District is planning on upgrading all staff devices through the Bond. Those purchases will take place this school year and will roll out in similar fashion to the interactive flat panels, one building at a time.

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.