Bond Work & Sinking Fund Project Update: October 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 October update includes construction updates on the new maintenance building, new renderings for Burton and Pattengill additions, construction start dates for Burton and Pattengill, Bond Groundbreaking Ceremony, renderings and plans for The BEAR Complex, timelines for BHS and the ATP & Robotics space, exciting news about the Community Field #1 baseball field 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.

Bond Groundbreaking Ceremony - October 28, 2024

Join the Berkley School District Board of Education, Bond team, building principals and professional partners to celebrate the kick-off of the Bond projects. The event will take place at Pattengill Elementary School, 3540 Morrison Ave, on October 28 at 5 pm. The public is invited to celebrate the Bond work with the District.

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 is moving along on schedule. The outside structure is complete along with the roof panels. Drywall is up inside, garage doors are being installed, fence posts are going in, HVAC system is being installed along with plumbing work. The crew will be finishing the outside concrete work soon and move to finish the interior. Construction is currently following the timeline and the building is anticipated to be completed by the end of December 2024.

District-wide Furniture Purchase - Bond - Phase II

Phase I of the furniture project is complete with a few punch list items to complete for the all new classroom furniture. Phase II(A) of the furniture project will receive their new furniture soon. This phase is for additional kindergarten sections, specialized classrooms, and the Early Intervention program at BBB. Phase II(B) (art rooms, media centers, music rooms, science labs, etc.) will begin the design process in October. The design development phase will continue through January 2025 to allow for installation to begin in June.

District-wide Furniture Donation

When the District emptied classrooms last summer in preparation for the new furniture, the items were collected and shipped to schools in need by the Reuse Network. The Reuse Network recently shared a report on where all the District furniture was repurposed. 7,551 pieces of surplus furniture, totaling 205,016 pounds, were shipped to recipients in the United States and in Lusaka, Zambia.

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

Burton & Pattengill multi-purpose/cafeteria additions plans are complete, construction fences are in place and work has begun. Messages were delivered to the Burton and Pattengill families and neighboring houses. The following details include the current construction status and future plans for both schools.

Burton

• Burton’s new multi-purpose/cafeteria addition will be attached to the building at the northeast corner of the playground by the gym. It will house a new lunchroom, a new kitchen, storage rooms, restrooms and will be a wonderful space for collaboration.
• Construction fencing was installed on October 17-18 and will be closed to the public on Monday, October 21 to block off the area for construction as well as the construction staging area. Half of Burton’s playground (east side) and parking lot will be fenced off 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 south east section of the field inside the track, to prepare for a new, smaller 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.

Pattengill

• Pattengill’s new multi-purpose/cafeteria addition will be attached to the building at the north doors, in the current concrete area. It will house a new lunchroom, a new kitchen, storage rooms, restrooms and will be a wonderful space for collaboration.
• Construction fencing was installed on Wednesday, October 9 to block off the area for construction as well as the construction staging area. The fencing was closed off on Friday, October 11 at the end of the day. 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. 
• 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 was removed off school hours before construction began 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 details are finalized and the work is out to bid. Bids are due on October 22. 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. 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 is currently out to bid. 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 came back from the bid process under budget and the Board of Education approved the contractors, minus landscaping and sports flooring, at the October 14th Regular meeting. Asbestos abatement will begin in tunnels near the current Maintenance Annex on October 21. Now that the bids and work have been solidified, the District is excited to share the renderings and the plans with the community. 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 bids were delayed for the District team to review the scope of work one last time to see if additional projects can be added. As soon as the details are finalized this project will go out to bid. Pool updates will take place starting as soon as the boys swim season is complete in March 2025.

ATP & Robotics at former Cana Lutheran Church - Sinking Fund - 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 was bundled with the BHS Bond projects which are due back from bid on October 22. 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 starting on November 4 and will take approximately four weeks to complete.

Baseball & Softball Fields - District Funds & Sinking Fund

The City of Berkley, Berkley School District (BSD), and Berkley Dads' Club are excited to share news about Community Field #1 renovations. Community Field #1 is the City of Berkley’s high school-sized baseball field that’s seen countless games played and memories made over generations.

The three entities are working together to improve and maintain the field for years to come. The City of Berkley, BSD, and the Dads’ Club have collaborated with the goal of refurbishing the field including new infield and outfield with sod and irrigation, fix drainage issues, and renovate the concession area and bathrooms. These improvements will make the field more enjoyable and functional for everyone.

The City is creating a special enterprise fund dedicated to the field's renovation and upkeep. The Berkley School District and Dads’ Club have each agreed to a five-year term to pay $35,000 in permit fees annually to support the field renovation and maintenance. The City is conducting a facility study to assess the restrooms and concession area. The City commits to updating these spaces once the study is complete.

The agreement also includes details about field access. The Berkley School District will have Community Field #1 priority for the high school and middle school baseball season. The Berkley Dads' Club will have Community Field #1 priority to support their summer and fall seasons. The City may issue permits to additional groups to use the field at times throughout the year, allowing for maximum community benefit. The BSD and Dads’ Club will retain first right of refusal during their usage period in these cases.

The work on the field improvements has already begun, with the goal of having everything ready for the spring 2025 season. This agreement has been approved by the City of Berkley and Berkley School District and now will be presented to the Berkley Dads’ Club for final approval.

In addition, the Berkley School District is committed to building a new field for the high school softball program on its property in the coming years.

Phase 2: Angell & Rogers Multi-Purpose Additions - Bond - Fall 2025

Design team meetings have begun to plan and shape the Bond work for Angell and Rogers multi-purpose/cafeteria additions, gym updates and any resulting playground adjustments. Design teams consist of building staff, District staff, architects and construction management team. These teams are led by Stantec, the District’s architects, and a core team of Berkley Schools Administrative staff.

Technology - Bond

New interactive flat panels and new classroom sound systems have been approved by the Board of Education for Berkley High School. In addition, the Board approved purchasing new devices for all teachers in the District. The staff device roll out will take place this school year and 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.