10/01/2014
The Board of Commissioners of the Public Building Commission (PBC) today approved the contract award for the construction of the Walter Payton College Preparatory High School Annex project and appointed the Architect of Record for the Arthur E. Canty Elementary School project.
The board approved the awarding of the $13.46 million construction contract to Paschen Milhouse Joint Venture III for the project at Payton College Prep, located at 1034 N. Wells Street in the Near North Side community.
The new, three-story annex will bring a 49,000 square foot building with 11 classrooms for English, math and science, additional specialty classrooms for art, music practice, driver’s education, dance and a special education and resource classroom, along with a gymnasium with locker facilities, a physical education and fitness room, student lounge and cafe and a multipurpose theater with partition to create two additional classrooms. Other project features include an administrative office and an elevator with access to all floors in the new annex and existing school building. The Annex is targeting LEED for Schools Silver certification from the USGBC.
The project will also include interior renovations to the existing school building, including conversion of two existing program spaces into a classroom and a new biology lab. The existing auditorium will receive upgrades with new theatrical and backdrop curtains for enhanced performances.
The annex will be completed by the first quarter of 2016, with the remaining renovation work to be completed by Fall 2016 in time for the start of the 2016-17 school year.
Also at today’s board meeting, the board approved the appointment of the architecture firm of Smith Harding, a Chicago-based, minority-owned business joint venture as Architect of Record for the Canty Elementary School Annex project, located at 3740 N. Panama Avenue in the Dunning community.
PBC is building these annexes on behalf of Chicago Public Schools (CPS). The new buildings will help ease overcrowding, provide more selective enrollment seats and bring enhanced facilities for students. The PBC has successfully completed a number of new CPS schools and annexes across the city, helping to improve the learning environment for students.
Since 2012, CPS has worked to leverage and commit approximately one billion capital dollars to improve access to technology, critical learning resources, and amenities at schools across the District to give children the resources they need to thrive in the classroom.
