New Trier’s Northfield and Winnetka campuses are undergoing renovations.

Renovations began at the Winnetka Campus over the 2014 Spring Break, and they are scheduled to be complete by mid-October of this year.

All of the construction began as “part of a capital improvement plan,” explained Denise Dubravec, Winnetka campus principal. “Each year, the school district identifies areas of need, and so there’s a process the plan must go through.”

Steve Linke, facilities manager, said, “The Superintendent, Dr. Yonke, formed an ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) committee. That committee consisted of community members, Physical Plant services, faculty, and administrators. We toured the whole campus, and looked at areas that we did not think we were going to do major renovation to, or tear down,” said Linke.

“We took all those deficiencies to the Facilities Steering Committee. That committee looked at them all and decided what would be the most beneficial to do, and what the district could afford.”

The Gates Gym and Gaffney Auditorium were found to be excellent candidates for renovation. “There were ways for people to access those spaces, but they weren’t convenient,” said Dubravec.

The board had many considerations to take in account when approving the project. One was the project’s estimated price tag. “For many years, there’s been a discussion on providing easier access for students with disabilities, or students who are in need of using the elevator for injuries,” Dubravec stated. “This was just a time where there was money set aside.”

Nicholas and Associates, a construction management firm, is responsible for overseeing the ongoing project. New Trier’s PPS staff is responsible for overseeing the firm.

The project, which includes construction at the Northfield campus as well as the Winnetka campus, was given a budget of, “a little over $1.9 million.”

“We are well within that budget right now,” Linke assured. This budget covers the cost of the management firm, materials, and the tradesmen and laborers.

The scheduling of such a massive undertaking is complex, and the amount of people working on the project, said Linke, “varies by day, because we have different trades here by different times.

I would say if you took every person that worked on the project from start to finish, probably 80 people. It really is a large project. We have masons, ironworkers, carpenters, electricians, plumbers, HBC technicians, demolition workers, general laborers, and cleanup workers.”

All of the renovations at the school this summer were apart of the ADA project, according to Linke, including the addition of a ramp to the Gaffney Auditorium to get into the building. In the auditorium a ramp was added to get from the house to the stage, and four accessible restrooms were added in the south lobby, said Linke.

“For the Gates Gym, we’re working on a five-stop elevator that will hit every level of that building,” Linke added.

The new construction will benfit students with disabilities who will gain easier access to all floors.

Community members who come to New Trier’s Winnetka campus will experience increased mobility as they arrive for performances in the Gaffney, or for games in the Gates Gym.

The administration belives the ongoing construction will promote the referendum for a replacement of the cafeteria, tech arts, and the music buildings. “It sends a message that it’s important for our students to have access to the facilities, and to feel comfortable with participating in all the different programs that operate in each of those areas,” Dubravec said.

While there were a few hiccups along the way, “there was nothing that didn’t allow us to continue to use the facilities. Overall, I feel that it is a successful project in that the end result is giving us, and giving our students access to facilities that they may not have had as easily,” said Dubravec.