UPDATED 7:11PM 8/13/24
The Galesburg School Board has okayed seeking bids for the last of the expansion and building work that will likely be done in the district for a while — a project that’s been discussed since at least November of last year.
The board, Monday night, approved seeking bids for the expansion of the north side of the Galesburg Junior/Senior High School, including the demolition of Gale and Rose Hoben Welch Schools, and the building of a warehouse for the district’s food service and some other needs — all totaling in the millions of dollars.
That will include a 26,000 square foot expansion of Wicall Gym.
The expansion will include “a large wrestling area, which will serve both 7th and 8th Grade. You can pull the divider up and have one large wrestling room, or split it, and 7th and 8th grade, or high school, or JV, and however you want to do it,” Bryan Archibald, senior project associate with Legat Architects, told the school board Monday night. “On the south is weight lifting, and then indoor turf on the east.”
Archibald says the floor could also be replaced in the original portion of Wicall, with an alternate bid to be considered for air conditioning. He says the turf can be used for indoor practices for football, baseball, softball, or other sports. Also included are batting cages additional restrooms, and other amenities.
That’s in addition to proposed artificial turf for the outdoor baseball and softball fields, new fencing, additional parking, and a roundabout on Dayton Street that should help with traffic.
“We’ve been looking at roundabouts and trying to come of the traffic throughout the fieldhouse,” said Archibald. “This is an alternate bid; we’re trying to control costs because we know that there’s a budget. But, the idea is to have new parking on the north when Gale comes down, because there’s a lot of entry and exits there. Additional parking on the north, and a small roundabout to control traffic in front of the fieldhouse.”
Archibald says, people tend to either drive fast or park wherever they want in parts of the athletic complex, regardless of what’s actually marked as parking.
A warehouse is proposed to be put up to replace most of what the district uses at Hawthorne Center, with expanded food storage facilities, an office area, and some other amenities.
If turf is replaced on the baseball and softball fields, Archibald says field drainage and irrigation systems would have to be removed and/or replaced.
Some of the earliest work could begin in the fall if bids are approved — especially regarding asbestos abatement to Gale and Rose Hoben Welch prior to demolition, with turf work planned for next summer. It’s all expected to be complete in 2026.
