Leyden School District 212 breaks ground on construction project … – Chicago Tribune

Leyden High School District 212 officials purposefully included both current and future Leyden students in groundbreaking ceremonies on May 18, as the district prepares for a historic construction project.

"These projects are looking to the future, and it was important to us that we recognizee the impact they will have on our local elementary students when they come to Leyden," Superintendent Nick Polyak said afterward.

District school board members, administrators and others gathered in the ceremony in the inner courtyard at West Leyden High School, 1000 N. Wolf Road, Northlake.

The ceremony signals "the beginning of a historic construction project that will benefit generations of Leyden students," officials said in their announcement. District plans call for an estimated $55 million project at East Leyden, at 3400 Rose St., in Franklin Park; and a roughly $25 million project at West Leyden, with the goal of "enhancing students' educational experience," officials said, announcing the project.

The work is to be done without the need for a tax referendum, Polyak has said. 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.

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, Polyak said when he was first announcing the project. 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 areas "that all of our students will use every day."

Construction is starting first at West Leyden, and the work at East Leyden will begin next school year. The projects are scheduled to be complete for the beginning of the 2019-2020 school year, officials said.

Along with the future users, "I would also like to thank our current students and staff members for their patience as we live through construction for the next two years," Polyak said following the groundbreaking.

"The end result will be worth it, and it will provide opportunities for generations of Leyden Eagles," he added.

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Leyden School District 212 breaks ground on construction project ... - Chicago Tribune