Oak Park and River Forest High School will cut the ribbon on a completely rebuilt athletics wing on Friday, August 22, capping a two-year, $102 million construction project that replaces physical education and locker room spaces dating to 1928 and 1957.

The Imagine OPRF Project 2 phase, which broke ground in summer 2024, delivers a new swimming pool with a spectator balcony, a multi-purpose and dance gym, boys', girls', and all-gender locker rooms, PE classrooms, an athletics office, and equipment storage at the southeast end of the building, according to the Chicago Tribune.

In 2022, the district described the old spaces as "in poor condition" and unable to accommodate the school's modern PE curriculum.

"It feels great to be addressing student needs," said Karin Sullivan, District 200's executive director of communications and community relations.

What's already done

Project 2 isn't the only piece of the campus transformation students will notice. The Park District of Oak Park partnered with the school on $16.5 million in athletic field work completed in fall 2023, including a new 400-meter track, a multipurpose field with a baseball diamond, and a renovated softball field.

A separate $12.5 million geothermal energy system installed beneath the football field is scheduled to be unveiled on Wednesday, July 1.

What comes next

With Project 2 wrapping up, the District 200 Board of Education approved the scope and budget for Act 3, the district's label for the third of five planned Imagine OPRF phases, at its Friday, June 26 meeting. That next phase carries an estimated price tag of $84,604,977 and targets the southwest corner of the building, where performing arts spaces and additional PE facilities are up to a century old.

How the district will pay for Act 3 has not been determined. No construction start date has been set.

The board's next decision point is Thursday, July 16, when members will vote on whether to authorize $750,000 for architects to create design documents.

Project 1 wrapped in 2023 at $42.2 million, funded from existing cash reserves, and renovated 65 classrooms, added a two-story student resource center, and built 15 new classrooms including two science labs. Projects 4 and 5 remain in early development.