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Urbana SD 116 hires BOLDD Architects for $28,000 feasibility study of high school spaces
Summary
The Urbana SD 116 board discussed a $28,000 program-needs study with BOLDD Architects to evaluate Urbana High School’s instructional spaces, Career and Technical Education capacity, parking and traffic flow; the work is a planning study funded from strategic-plan dollars and is expected to return preliminary options within months.
The Urbana SD 116 Board heard an administrative presentation on a $28,000 program-needs feasibility study the district will commission from BOLDD Architects to evaluate spaces at Urbana High School and identify options for phased improvements.
The superintendent said the agreement is a planning study, not a construction contract, and will gather input from teachers, department chairs, facilities staff, union trades and students to produce conceptual options, budget estimates and possible phasing over roughly four months. "This initial agreement with them is really just to get the conversation started," the superintendent said.
The study will examine classroom and specialized instructional spaces, traffic and parking flow — issues student ambassadors raised — and the district’s capacity to expand CTE programs. The superintendent referenced recent visits to other districts and facilities, including an adaptive reuse project in Mattoon and Parkland’s Early College facilities, as models the district asked BOLDD to consider.
Mark Ritz, a principal at BOLDD Architects, told the board the firm’s work is school-focused: "About 85% of what we do is K–12 planning, construction and design," he said, and offered to answer questions as the district starts interviews and site visits.
Board members asked where the $28,000 would come from; a board member said the cost will be covered by funds allocated to the district’s strategic plan. The superintendent said BOLDD will return to the board with preliminary ideas and phasing options before the end of the board’s meeting cycles in June.
The superintendent said the study will include a review of prior campus planning work the district has commissioned and will deliberate with building leaders on priorities such as automotive and other oversubscribed classes. She also asked the board to consider the needs of the district’s young adult program (students aged 18–22) as part of the planning scope.
Next steps: district staff will coordinate BOLDD’s interviews with school staff and departments, begin site visits, and expect a preliminary report with conceptual options and cost estimates in the coming months for board review.
