Skip to main content
Add as a preferred source on Google

Illinois High School to See $93.2M Renovation Project

  • By Matt Jones
  • 04/18/22

Officials from Springfield School District 186 in Springfield, Ill., gathered last week to break ground on renovations to Lanphier High School. The project comes with a price tag of $93.2 million and is expected for completion by December 2023. Funding comes from a 1% sales tax increase that voters passed in 2018, according to local news.

Renovations include adding a skylight to the commons area, new classroom additions, a new performing arts auditorium, a new fieldhouse with a capacity for 2,000, an esports room and workspace for the construction trades program, said District Superintendent Jennifer Gill. The project also includes a makeover for Memorial Stadium, which serves both Lanphier and the nearby Springfield High School. The stadium will get a new field, new track surface, locker rooms, concession stand and restrooms.

Gill said that one of the renovation’s primary goals was to preserve “the historical nature of Lanphier [with that main entrance], but yet make it to where it is completely redone and renewed inside,” according to local news.

“Blown away,” was the first reaction from Springfield School District 186 Board of Education member Micah Miller upon seeing the first renderings of the renovation. “I remember liking the first rendition in the master plan [from 2017]. They’re really putting a lot of thought into the form and the function, specifically the commons section that ties the new and old building together. I’m happy to see the investment in Lanphier; it’s long overdue.”

The district is partnering with BLDD Architects, Inc. for design and with O’Shea Builders for construction.

About the Author

Matt Jones is senior editor of Spaces4Learning. He can be reached at [email protected].

Featured

  • Planning with Clarity: Using AI to Make Better Campus Decisions, Not Just Better Designs

    Higher education leaders are being asked to make increasingly high-stakes decisions about campus facilities amid greater uncertainty than ever before. Social and economic pressures, shifting enrollment, and evolving learning models compete with growing deferred maintenance needs to strain even the most robust infrastructure budgets.

  • Virginia Tech Tops Out New College of Engineering Building

    Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Va., recently celebrated the topping out of Mitchell Hall, which will soon stand as the largest College of Engineering building on campus, according to a news release. The university partnered with Skanska on the 285,500-square-foot facility, which has an expected completion date of winter 2028.

  • Dallas-Area District Debuts Three New Facilities

    The Duncanville Independent School District in southwest Dallas, Texas, recently held ribbon-cutting ceremonies for three new facilities that resulted from a $170-million bond program passed in 2023, according to a news release.

  • Secret to Efficient, On-Time School Infrastructure & Modernization Projects is All in the Preparation

    Warmer weather and longer days make summer the ideal time for construction and modernization projects at educational facilities. School boards and construction firms must coordinate effectively to ensure that these projects do not extend even a single day into the school year and impede classroom operation.