Board approves $6.87 million summer 2026 project authorization with FGM Architects; discusses Project 3 of Imagine Oak facilities plan

The Oak Park and River Forest High School District 200 board approved a project authorization with FGM Architects on Thursday for summer 2026 work at an estimated budget of $6,869,216.

At a special meeting later the same evening the motion to approve the FGM Architects authorization passed by roll call. Board members recorded affirmative votes during the roll call; the motion was approved and the project authorization will proceed as scoped in the contract authorization presented to the board.

The vote comes amid a broader board discussion of the district's Imagine Oak master facilities plan, a multi-phase facilities effort launched after a narrowly defeated 2016 referendum. Administrators and staff reviewed the history and design intent behind Imagine Oak: the process grew from a community engagement effort that produced a multi-phase, 10-year master plan with needs driven by program, equity and student-centered criteria.

Project 1, a three-story addition and renovation that included a new cafeteria, SRC and library-learning center and multiple renovated classrooms, cost approximately $42.2 million and was funded from district cash reserves and completed in 2023, administrators said. The district later completed an athletic-fields project (Project 2) — including new track and nearby baseball and softball facilities — at a cost administrators reported as about $16.5 million, also funded from cash reserves and community partnerships.

Administrators described Project 3 conceptually as work immediately west of the field house that would replace cramped performing-arts spaces and add physical-education facilities, including practice and multipurpose gym spaces, black-box theater and ensemble rehearsal rooms, dressing rooms, storage and team changing facilities. Project 3 programming would also incorporate sustainability elements such as a green roof and a site suitable for a future photovoltaic array.

Karen and other district leaders said Imagine Oak began after a narrow referendum loss and a year-and-a-half engagement process that included 30 community members and 10 staff, producing a needs-driven plan. Administrators emphasized that Project 3 remains conceptual; the board was asked to consider authorizing a programming phase that would re-evaluate specific needs, collect stakeholder input and refine design priorities before schematic design.

District staff said project funding to date has relied on cash reserves, donor fundraising (the Imagine Foundation and partners have raised pledges to support the work), limited certificates of participation for the current phase and the pursuit of federal rebates where applicable. Administrators also described sustainability and geothermal work underway and said Verity will provide a detailed update on drilling and energy measures in two weeks.

Next steps described in the meeting include the district returning to the board in about two weeks with a revised authorization and recommended next steps for Project 3 programming and concept design. The special-meeting roll call approving the FGM Architects authorization for summer 2026 recorded unanimous yes votes among members present.