Written by Suzanne Baker. The Courier News. July 17, 2014.

http://couriernews.suntimes.com/2014/07/17/new-district-300-offices-taking-shape/

New District 300 Office Taking Shape

ALGONQUIN — While the rain in recent weeks set back school parking lot repairs in Community Unit School District 300, work on various projects throughout the district should be finished by the deadline, a school official is saying.

Assistant Superintendent of Operations Chuck Bumbales gave a brief update this week on the progress of the summer construction projects underway throughout the district.

The most noticeable change is at the site of the new administration center. What just weeks ago looked like a slab of concrete on vacant lot the corner of Golden Eagle and Harnish drives in Algonquin, now is starting to take shape as a building.

Bumbales said the steel was delivered and the basic frame for the structure took two days to erect. As of Monday, the roof was installed as welding crews moved onto the decking for the floors. He said the work should be completed by the end of the week so the concrete for the floor can be poured early next week.

Bumbales estimated the building will be fully enclosed within the next month and a half. He said after the concrete is poured on the second floor, the crew will move onto wrapping the steel around the building and then install the outer walls. The roofing would start after that, he said.

“Probably within a month and a half we should be water-tight in the building and then we should be moving quickly on the inside,” he said.

Work is projected to be completed around winter break.

With just weeks left before the Aug. 4 date to turn the building over to teachers, Bumbales said work on Oak Ridge School also continues to run on schedule.

He said work is continuing on the electrical, heating and air conditioning, sprinkler heads and system controls.

All the work in the ceiling passed inspection with the Regional Office of Education last week giving the green light for the construction crew to begin work on the drop ceiling, he said. With work on the tiling the floor already started, the next phase will be applying a final coat of paint and installing the doors and signage before cleaning up the facility.

With the start of the school year less than a month away, district officials expect air conditioning work and parking lot repairs to be done well before students arrive.

Bumbales said the air conditioning replacement at Dundee-Crown High School in Carpentersville, Sleepy Hollow Elementary in Sleepy Hollow, Neubert Elementary in Algonquin and Lake in the Hills Elementary in Lake in the Hills is on track to be finished before opening day of school Aug. 13.

While the district is on track to finish parking lot repairs before the start of the school year, Bumbales admitted a few locations will come down to the wire, particularly if the area is hit by frequent rain in the upcoming weeks. “We are on schedule, but it has been, well not even a little, a lot challenging,” Bumbales said.

The good news is that work is finished at Golfview Elementary, Lakewood Elementary, Perry Elementary and Dundee-Crown High School, all in Carpentersville; as well as Westfield School and Jacobs High School, both in Algonquin.

He said progress is being made at Parkview Elementary and the deLacy Family Education Center in Carpentersville; Lake in the Hills Elementary and Lincoln Prairie Elementary in Lake in the Hills; Sleep Hollow Elementary; Hampshire Elementary and Middle Schools in Hampshire; and Algonquin Lakes Elementary in Algonquin.

Construction is expected to start late this week to early next week on Neubert Elementary and Eastview Elementary in Algonquin; Dundee Highlands Elementary in West Dundee and Liberty Elementary in Carpentersville, according to Bumbales.

Written by Emily Coleman, The Northwest Herald. July 15, 2014

http://www.nwherald.com/2014/07/16/district-12-picks-construction-management-firm-to-oversee-improvements/aldich1/

District 12 Picks Construction Management Firm to Oversee Improvements

JOHNSBURG – An Elgin-based construction management firm will oversee the referendum-funded overhaul of District 12 facilities.

The School District 12 Board unanimously picked Lamp Incorporated at its meeting Tuesday evening to serve as the construction management firm for the planned improvements and maintenance at the district’s schools.

The work also will include the closure of James C. Bush Elementary and the upgrading of Johnsburg Junior High School campus to accommodate those students.

The approval doesn’t come with a dollar amount yet, Superintendent Dan Johnson said. That number will be negotiated once the architecture firms finalize their plans as soon as this fall.

The estimated $41 million worth of improvements will be paid for using voter-approved bonds. The exact amount the district can take out will be based on a cap that ties how much districts can borrow to property values.

The School Operations Committee recommended Lamp Incorporated to the board after 45-minute interviews with three finalist firms, board Vice President Scott Rowe said.

Rowe was impressed by the firm’s “extensive experience” in northeastern Illinois, its experience with schools and its emphasis on site control and safety – an important point, Johnson added, due to the public nature of the buildings, which are accessed all the time by different groups.

Lamp Incorporated worked on the addition and renovation at Algonquin Middle School, the District 158 expansion to house full-day kindergarten, the Jacobs High School addition and renovation and the Huntley High School athletic improvements, according to its website.

It also conducted District 12’s facilities assessment three years ago, Johnson said.

Ian Lamp, the firm’s vice president of marketing and sales, also highlighted the way the firm ends the project: by digitally providing the district with all the bids, qualification reports, equipment manuals and training videos so they are completely accessible and usable after the project is done.

“I think we [the School Operations Committee] were comfortable that we would get what we expect,” Rowe said, adding that he feels “not the least bit tentative” about the pick.

Written by Shawn Shinneman, The Northwest Herald. July 10, 2014

http://www.nwherald.com/2014/07/10/harvard-high-school-in-second-phase-of-face-lift/awz0fos/

Harvard High School in second phase of face-lift

HARVARD – It’s been more than 20 years since Harvard High School received substantial work and nearly a century since it was built. So, yes, District 50 officials are excited to be closing in on the second phase of a major sprucing up of the place.”It’s very much needed – the original part of the building was constructed in 1921, and then it had additions in 1955 and 1993,” said Steve Miller, the district’s director of facilities. “So yeah, the older section of the building really did need some updating.”

Update it, they have. Contractors started last year building 10 new classrooms, which opened by Christmas break. They did the exterior of the kitchen last summer, and completed the interior throughout the school year. Equipment was installed in the spring.”That was a new addition to the building,” Miller said. “It’s completed and ready to go when the kids come back in September.” The old kitchen is being demolished and rebuilt as cafeteria space, expanding seating and adding a “senior cafe” that will incorporate “restaurant-style” seating, Miller said.
Crews also will build a fitness center with cardio equipment and an area for yoga, and redo the administrative area. The high school also will get installed a secure entrance, along with four other schools in the district this summer.

In the new entrance, a first set of doors will open into a small atrium where guests can speak with school staff through a video screen before being buzzed through a second set of locked doors. The district’s fifth school, Richard D. Crosby Elementary, already has a secure entrance. Additionally, both the high school and Jefferson School are getting new HVAC systems. The high school’s upgrades have been a long time coming. The school was the district’s only building not to feel relief from a $22 million referendum in 2008, which allowed the district to build Crosby school and drop a grade level at the others to create space. But that referendum was leveraged for a $13.8 million grant, which officials are using to complete the high school renovations.
So far, the completed projects have gone over well with students, Miller said. “They’ve been very good,” he said. “The modern rooms are very nice.”