Big plans: District 212 set for renovation project at East and West Leyden – Chicago Tribune

Leyden School District 212 officials have begun taking the first steps in what has been termed the largest construction and renovation project in the history of the district, with major additions planned for both East and West Leyden high schools.

Officials are tackling an estimated $55 million project at East Leyden, at 3400 Rose St., in Franklin Park; and a roughly $25 million project at West Leyden, 1000 N. Wolf Road, Northlake; with the goal of "enhancing students educational experience," Supt. Nick Polyak said, announcing the project.

"East Leyden High School is 90 years old, and West Leyden High is 60 years old," Polyak said. "Both buildings were designed for a different era of education, and certain aspects of each building don't meet the current needs of our students.

"The focus of these projects is to enhance the educational experience for our students," he said. "Various aspects of these projects are meant to improve safety and security, promote academic opportunities, increase athletic and extracurricular programming and make our schools sustainable into the future."

The work is to be done without the need for a tax referendum, Polyak pointed out. Working with the district's financial partners, District Business Manager Thomas Janeteas suggested use of a debt certificate as a financing tool that would allow officials to spread the project cost over 20 years, with payments made annually out of the district's operating budget/capital improvement fund.

At East Leyden, an addition will be built on the current site of Dodge Field, Polyak said. The work is to include new classrooms and practice rooms for band and choir, a new cafeteria/commons, an enclosed inner courtyard, a preschool and day care facility, and a new aquatic center, he said.

Renovated spaces at East Leyden will include a new wrestling room, girls locker room, additional classrooms and a maintenance area, he said..

At West Leyden, an addition is to be built inside a portion of the inner courtyard, he said. The first floor will be a cafeteria/commons addition and a kitchen renovation, Polyak said. The second floor addition will be a new library and media center, he said.

Renovated spaces will include new classrooms, as well as reorganized office spaces, student support areas and more, the superintendent said.

He said the additions will result in new cafeterias and common large areas "that all of our students will use every day."

"So that it's not only a new modern space for them," Polyak said in a phone interview, "but it's also going to allow us to go down from five or six lunch hours a day down to three, which is going to have curricular benefits for our students."

For the community, "one really noticeable piece will be a new aquatic center," he said.

Currently, Leyden has a swim team and a pool at each campus but the pools are only five lanes wide and situated underground at both campuses, he said. A legitimate aquatic center will allow the swim teams to bring activities such as water polo and diving into their program, he said.

Construction is to get underway in May at West Leyden, while work at East Leyden is expected to begin next year, probably around December or January, Polyak said.

The East Leyden work, though constituting a larger footprint and larger dollar amount, is expected to have a less disruptive effect because it will be largely taking place behind the building, Polyak said. Work is to be completed by the beginning of the 2019-20 school year.

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Big plans: District 212 set for renovation project at East and West Leyden - Chicago Tribune