Bond Work & Sinking Fund Project Update: December 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 December update includes construction updates on the new maintenance building, construction updates for Burton and Pattengill, new site rendering and updates for Berkley High School projects, timelines for BHS and the ATP & Robotics space, updates on Phase II projects 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 is moving along on schedule. Since November, the fence has been completed and electrical, tile and ceiling grids are continuing with installation. Interior painting is also nearly complete. The building now goes to the final inspection process and then the outside power source will be connected to the building. The building is anticipated to be completed by the end of January 2025.

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. Over Winter Break, desk drawers will be repaired in all elementary classrooms. Phase II(A) of the furniture project received new furniture in December for additional kindergarten sections, specialized classrooms, and the Early Intervention program at BBB. The design process for Phase II(B) (art rooms, media centers, music rooms, science labs, etc.) has begun. The design development phase will continue through January 2025 to allow for installation to begin in June.

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

Burton & Pattengill multi-purpose/cafeteria additions are underway. 

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.
• The foundation work is nearly complete on the addition and the masons will start building walls once the foundation is done.
• For the new playground area inside of the track, fencing is up and excavation has begun to prepare the site for the monkey bars, tubes, swings and shade sails.
• 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.
• The street-side parking on Nadine plus the sidewalk will remain open through November/December. 

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.
• The foundation is complete and the masons are working on building the exterior walls. The addition site is inside of a bubble to allow the cement to dry in the cold weather.
• The construction fence line will be extended in January to enclose the grassy area between the building and playground facing Oakshire.
• 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.
• During construction, both Royal and Oakshire will have short time periods where the streets will have construction to tie into the building projects. The community will be notified ahead of time when these projects are slated to begin.

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

Berkley High School’s Performing Arts Bond team details were finalized and the bid divisions were approved at the November Board of Education Regular Meeting. 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. Now that the Board of Education has approved the vendors, the District is excited to share the renderings of the Performing Arts Wing. 

Phase 1: BHS Science Wing - Bond - Summer 2025

The BHS Science Wing planning and drawings are complete and the bid divisions were approved at the November Board of Education Regular Meeting. 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. The Science Wing project timeline includes work beginning once school is complete in June 2025 and the labs reopening in October 2025.

Phase 1: BHS BEAR Complex - Bond - Spring 2025

The District Field House project 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, which will be presented to the Board at the January meeting. Asbestos abatement in the tunnels near the current Maintenance Annex is complete. Engineering reviews are taking place and planning for environmental remediation is in progress. Demolition 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. The original pool scope includes 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. In addition to this work, the team is adding a new filter system, a new timing system and scoreboard, upgrading lighting and additional plumbing work. Pool updates will take place starting as soon as the boys swim season is complete in March 2025. The additional mechanical work will be completed in spring/summer 2026.

ATP & Robotics at former Cana Lutheran Church - Sinking Fund - Spring 2025

The Adult Transition Program (ATP) and Robotics programs will be housed at the former Cana Lutheran Church. The work for both of these projects was bundled with the BHS Bond projects and the bid divisions were approved at the November Board of Education Regular Meeting. 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 is now complete. Preconstruciton meetings are taking place to plan for the work that will begin in February.

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. The team has held four meetings so far and are working to refine details to inform the final design as well as choose the final finishes. 

Technology - Bond

New interactive flat panels and new classroom sound system installation is in progress at Berkley High School. The team works through 3-4 classrooms each day, has 13 classrooms left and will have the project completed in early January 2025. The new clock system will be installed at BHS over Winter Break. In addition, the District is working to improve the fiber network and has hired IDS as a technology consultant to assist with Bond project planning specific to technology needs. The new staff laptop distribution plan has begun and will continue through winter/spring 2025.

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.