With west and east side updates complete, New Trier takes aim at center of Winnetka campus

The next few years at New Trier High School’s Winnetka campus will again be busy with renovation work as the district improves classroom space in two of the school’s oldest areas.

New Trier’s School Board unanimously approved work and contracts for multiple upcoming projects at its regular board meeting on Monday, Aug. 19, continuing a timeline that was established in the district’s 15-year facility plan.

The most notable projects are the renovations of the North and Tower buildings in Winnetka, which were built in 1934 and 1957, respectively. The work comes on the heels of two other projects at the Winnetka campus: a $75 million athletics-facility overhaul, which wrapped up prior to the 2023-’24 school year, and the $100 million rebuild of the campus’s west side, which was under construction from 2015-’17.

Associate Superintendent Dr. Chris Johnson said classrooms on the third floors of those buildings were renovated over the past few summers, making the focus of the upcoming project on portions of the first and second floors.

“The renovated space includes 10 redesigned science labs with modern features,” he said. “This process included board input from our science faculty members and leaders. The net increase in labs — three labs — will allow us to have more classes solely in science labs rather than using a lecture room for regular instruction.”

The North and Tower building renovations will also include relocating campus administration, post-high school counseling and student services offices from the second floor to the main floor. Johnson said they will be located “near the north entrance, providing a welcoming experience for visitors and placing (the offices) closer to students.”

In order to limit interruptions for students and staff, Johnson said most of the work will be done over the next three summers, similar to previous classroom renovations.

“This project is done over three summers because it’s part of the central core of the campus, and we can’t take large portions of it off-line,” he said. “So, what we do is we do prep work, pre-construction work in the year to minimize the impact to staff and students, and then the bulk of the construction over the summer.”

The total cost of the North and Tower building renovations is expected to be approximately $35.3 million. Johnson said the district will use bond proceeds — from alternate revenue bonds, debt service extension base bonds and health life safety bonds — to fund the work.

With the board’s approval, the project is expected to go out to bid in the spring and summer of 2025. Some demolition and abatement is scheduled to begin in the summer of 2025 and continue through the winter. Phase 1 of the project could be done over the summer of 2026 and Phase 2 the following summer.

Solar panels at Winnetka, water main replacement also planned

In addition to the North and Tower building renovations, the board members approved plans to add a solar panel array to the Winnetka campus and water main replacement at both campuses.

This past spring, solar panels at the freshman campus in Northfield were brought online, and according to Johnson, they have been “very successful,” generating about 41 percent of that campus’s electricity.

The district will now install panels on the roof of the Winnetka campus.

The board approved a contract with Performance Systems Inc. for $3.7 million for the project.

In his memo to the board, Johnson said the district budgeted $4 million for this project in the fiscal year 2025 capital projects fund, and wrote that the cumulative savings, over the life of the system, is expected to be $5.6 million.

The board also approved three projects that will be done over the summer of 2025, which Johnson described as “behind-the-scenes work.” They include replacement of the water main and related systems at the Winnetka campus, replacement of the Northfield campus water service, and other projects related to energy efficiency.

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