Will County Gazette

Laura Batterberry, principal director of Architecture for Wight & Company, recently briefed the Joliet Township High School District 204 School Board on construction projects.

"We appreciate that your continued professional relationship with us to improve your facilities," she said in the Nov. 15 board meeting. "And tonight, we have got the opportunity to talk through the Summer '23 improvements that we're going to do. So we'll kind of touch base on what's going on right now, show you some good images and kind of walk you through those and then we'll kind of end up with that budget."

Batterberry talked the board through some of the summer of 2023 improvement plans for the high schools. Starting with Joliet Central, she addressed the plans for redoing the roof and some other areas of the exterior. The big plans are for the football turf and field and track replacement, along with new stadium lighting and a new stadium entry area. She show the board an artist's rendering of the plans.

For Joliet West, they will also be replacing the field, track and turf along with new stadium lighting and a new stadium entry area. There will be locker room renovation projects along with a renovation of the bleachers in the stadium. The baseball dugout and press box will also be replaced. There were numerous pictures showcasing the plans for these projects as well. 

David Norris, preconstruction manager of Gilbane Building Company, gave a brief overview of the budget for the entire project. The subtotal for the cost of all the replacements and renovations was just over $5.9 million. The project budget calculation also includes contingencies and escalations because they are so common for construction, plus other miscellaneous costs for tests or permits. The total amount for the project comes to $8.6 million, with any contingency costs not spent going back to the district.