6/10/2008
The Board of Commissioners of the Public Building Commission of Chicago today approved a contract for the construction of a new elementary school for Chicagos Northwest Side.
With the Commissioners action, the new Belmont Cragin Area Elementary School will be built at 2231 N. Central Avenue by the joint venture of Sollitt/Brown & Momen, which submitted the lowest of three bids. The contract, for $27.1 million, calls for more than 24 percent MBE participation and more than four percent WBE participation.
The primary mission of the Public Building Commission of Chicago is to deliver high-quality facilities for the benefit of local residents, said PBC Executive Director Erin Lavin Cabonargi. Among the facilities we construct, the development of new schools is one of the most inspiring. With this new school, students will be afforded an education in a model facility, one that blends cutting-edge design, extensive natural light and the modern resources todays students and faculty need.
Using a prototype design, the three-story school is expected to hold 900 students in grades pre-kindergarten through eighth. Besides including a library, a gymnasium, a dining hall and computer, science, music and art classrooms, the school is expected to feature several elements recommended by the U.S. Green Building Councils Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) program, among them a 25 percent green roof.
The new school is tentatively expected to open in the fall of 2009.
The PBC manages construction and renovation projects for the Chicago Public Schools as well as the City of Chicago and its other sister agencies. Mayor Richard M. Daley serves as the PBCs chairman. Additional information about the PBC and its projects is available at the agencys Web site: www.pbcchicago.com.
