The new $102 million pool and gym at Oak Park and River Forest High School won't open until Oct. 1, two months past the original July 31 target, after Gilbane Construction told the District 200 school board Thursday, Aug. 6 that weather delays and regional trade-labor shortages derailed the timeline.

Gilbane project manager Jeremy Roling delivered the explanation at the board's Committee of the Whole meeting. The presentation had been promised since late July, when Superintendent Greg Johnson first disclosed the delay in a July 27 community email.

"Due to unavoidable circumstances, including weather delays and regional trade-labor shortages, completing the entire facility prior to the first day of school is no longer feasible," Johnson wrote in that email. "A phased opening has become necessary."

The immediate fallout: as reported Aug. 4, OPRF's girls swimming and diving team has no on-campus pool. The school's former west pool is being infilled as part of the project, and the team's practice season begins Monday, Aug. 10, forcing swimmers to train at a neighboring high school until October.

What opens when

Most Project 2 spaces, including primary PE areas, are expected to open Sept. 1, one week into the school year that starts Aug. 25. The new swimming pool and third-floor gym are both projected to open Oct. 1.

The community ribbon-cutting, originally set for Saturday, Aug. 22, has been rescheduled to Saturday, Oct. 3, at 10 a.m. Community tours will follow from 10 a.m. to noon.

How the timeline slipped

Last winter, Roling told the school board he was targeting "substantial completion" by July 31, with the pool finished by Aug. 6 and the gym by Aug. 12. Those targets proved overly optimistic.

Construction on the southeast-corner PE wing began in spring 2025. The project demolished the old structure and built a replacement that includes the pool and a third-floor gymnasium.

What's unaffected

Johnson said in his July 27 email that all PE classes, student programming and athletic activities will begin on schedule and continue uninterrupted despite the phased opening. Huskie Kickoff Day for freshmen remains Monday, Aug. 24, with the full student body returning Tuesday, Aug. 25.

The next regular Board of Education meeting is Thursday, Aug. 20.