Journal & Topics Media Group

At One-Third Complete, New Maple School On Time, On Budget


Dist. 30 and Northbrook village and park district officials enter the 111,000 square foot new Maple School construction site for a tour of the building with builders and architects. (Tom Robb/Journal photo)

Construction on Northbrook Glenview School Dist. 30’s Maple School is about a third complete, on time and on budget for its scheduled fall 2019 completion date.

Architects and construction managers took Dist. 30, Northbrook village and park district officials and the Glenview Journal on a tour of the construction site Thursday, Oct. 25 as workers come close to finishing the outer shell of the building. Completing the outer shell before winter sets in will allow construction crews to continue working through the winter months.

The new Maple is a two- and- three-story building with total square footage of 111,000 on a 75,000 square foot footprint expected to cost $42.6 million. The existing Maple School, the core of which was built in 1949, contains 89,000 square feet.

The new school itself is expected to cost $40.6 million. The $2 million district administration offices being built above the new Maple School’s main office are being paid for separately from voter approved referendum funds for the project. District officials are also dipping into $5 million in reserves to help pay for the new Maple. A small portion of referendum funds is allocated to other district projects.

Dist. 30 Supt. Brian Wegley welcomes Dist. 30 and Northbrook village and park district officials to what will be the athletic facility entrance to the new Maple School along “Main Street,” a corridor which runs the length of the school. The blue wall behind those listening to Wegley is a finished surface that students will see when they start classes in fall 2019.

Stairs and floors are in place for all three floors of the building along with sections of roofing. Most of the structural walls are framed out with steel girders. Several key finished walls are also in place.

Completed heavy walls are in place around an east and west gyms. Walls around the east gym are reinforced to serve as an emergency shelter. Architects said when complete, the gym/storm shelter, with its double thick reinforced concrete walls, will be able to withstand 250 mph winds.

Another key feature of the building is every room will contain windows to allow in natural light. In the east gym, there are five small vertical windows in one corner.

The shell of a two-story STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) lab starts to take shape with walls and steel girders in place in the new Maple School.

A room which will see some of the heaviest traffic from students is the Cafetorium. Part cafeteria, the Cafetorium features a stage facing both the cafeteria space on one side and the main hall and Learning Stairs on the other side.

Sliding doors on both sides of the stage can transform it into an enclosed meeting or study room, or a performance space open to either the cafeteria, Learning Stairs or both.

The Learning Stairs reflects a feature in all classrooms: flexible learning spaces. Furnishings for all classrooms will feature easy flexibility allowing teachers to not only transform a traditional classroom grid layout to clusters for small group activities, or a semi or full circle for class discussions and presentations. New furniture may also include things like standing desks.

Above the main school office will be the district administration offices. Facing Glenbrook North High School, administrators working late will be able to see part of Glenbrook North athletic field from their desks.

The current Maple School was built in 1949. Additions to the school were completed in 1953, 1954, 1963, 1965, 1967, 1988 and 2001.

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