After more than two hours of programming presentations and Q&A, the Oak Park-River Forest District 200 Board of Education authorized a conceptual-design contract for Project 3 and agreed to continued community outreach as the district develops schematic design and cost estimates.

District-appointed planners and architects presented updated programming for Project 3, the next phase of the district’s multi-project master facilities plan produced originally by the Imagine process. Presenters said Project 3 would primarily address performing-arts and physical-education spaces that the team found to be undersized, inaccessible, or unsafe in the current building configuration. Key programming recommendations included larger, accessible band and orchestra rooms; expanded and varied practice spaces; a reconfigured black-box theater with support spaces and storage; multipurpose gym and gymnastics spaces; adaptive-PE space; and consolidated, secure instrument and set storage.

Presenters described Project 3 conceptually as a new multi-story wing in the southwest corner of the campus (adjacent to the stadium), with two- and three-story performance and athletic volumes, basement-level team and storage spaces, and mechanical systems sized to serve the complex. The presentation emphasized that the programming is conceptual, that cost and sequencing will be refined during schematic design, and that Project 3 sequencing is dependent on campus constraints and the district’s larger capital plan.

Board members and attendees pressed staff and the consultants on accessibility, safety, storage for large instruments and props, acoustic separation of rehearsal rooms, and the potential to visit peer facilities as part of community engagement. Presenters described detailed outreach used during programming, including surveys, targeted student and faculty focus groups, tours, and a separate theater consultant assessment. Several board members said more community tours and targeted listening sessions would be scheduled in the fall and during schematic design.

On a motion recorded at the meeting, the board authorized a project-authorization/conceptual-design contract with the district’s design team (FGM/other consultants) to proceed into the concept and schematic-design phase, with community engagement built into the preliminary schedule. The motion was approved by roll-call vote.

District staff said the conceptual-design phase will produce a budget-range estimate, a public engagement schedule, and materials for the board to consider when it determines whether to place a referendum or other funding measure before voters. The board emphasized that design work will include review of alternatives and ongoing cost/value analysis. No final funding decisions for Project 3 were made at the meeting beyond authorization to proceed with design services.