A significant amount of our external construction project has been finished.  Work is progressing well on the interior portion of the project.  The new fence along East Avenue with its stone terminal points has been erected.  The metal frame is in place along the south elevation of the school to support the cloister walk we will build.  The Reception Center is in place along with its stone arch.  It is a very impressive effect. 

The nine new instructional spaces all have their walls and floors in place.  Some of the rooms have wall cabinets and counter space installed.  The plumbing work for a Chemistry Lab is rather sophisticated.  That room is a little less finished than the others.   The new mechanical/electrical/plumbing infrastructure is installed.  This should markedly improve the quality of air flow in the Auditorium, the Student Cafeteria, and the Lawless Gymnasium.  The new generator/trash compactor brick corral is completed.  The construction fence is pulled back to allow bus access and parking behind the school.  Work is on schedule for a January completion date.

Significant progress has been made in the interior of the expanded LINK Building, the South Wing.The masonry walls for the new rooms on the second and third floors are in place. On the second floor an Art Room, a general purpose Classroom, and a Technology Area are all recognizable. On the third floor we can see a Physics Laboratory, two general purpose Classrooms, and a Professional Library. The fourth floor is less complete but this will hold a Chemistry Laboratory, a Biology Laboratory, and two general purpose Classrooms.

On the ground level the new Reception Area and Fitness Room are taking shape. Outside in the parking lot there is a long trench to connect the pipes from the new Girls’ Locker Room to the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District network under East Avenue. The south pier for the new arch is in place. A brick enclosure has been constructed to house a new auxiliary generator and trash compactor. This generator will support our elevators, technology, and cafeteria freezers in case of an emergency. New air handling units have been installed in the Mechanical Room. These units will enhance fresh air flow in the Cafeteria, Lawless Gymnasium, and Auditorium. This will raise the physical comfort level in those areas.

The parking lot has been given over to a construction site. Buses load and discharge their passengers on Washington Boulevard. The Village of Oak Park has provided the school with the use of a municipal parking lot at the intersection of Oak Park Avenue and Madison Street. Members of the Madison Street Business Association have generously provided the use of their commercial parking lot for overnight Fenwick bus parking. The construction completion date is set for December, 2007. The school occupancy date is set for January, 2008.

The construction project continues to advance. Over 90% of the steel work and the masonry work have been completed. The frame for the new Reception Area is in place. The ground has been prepared for the foundation for the expanded Field house.

As one walks through the new upper floors of the LINK the shape of classrooms and corridors is becoming evident. Some of the roof top units (RTU) and air handling units (AHU) have been installed. The ramps to connect the LINK with the upper floors of the original 1929 North Wing classrooms have been installed. The Laundry Room is now an extension of the Library. However, this space will be used as a temporary instructional area for the first semester.

The southeast corner of the parking lot has been prepared for the foundation slab for a new trash compactor and auxiliary generator. The ground along the East Avenue frontage has been prepared for the installation of a fence. The driveway apron by the building has been excavated in preparation for the connection of sewer lines from the Field house expansion with the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District system. The parking lot is currently a construction zone. Buses are using Washington Boulevard as a loading zone.

All of the steel is in place for the LINK, the Fieldhouse Expansion, and the Reception Center.
The three new cement floors for the LINK Expansion have all been poured.   
The masons are placing the cinder blocks and bricks for the walls in the LINK expansion.
The Library has been painted and the new carpet is being installed.
The final Summer School classes have just ended.
The two weeks from July 30-August 14 will be a period of intense construction activity.
There will be a total building electrical and plumbing shut down for August 02 and August 03.
The entrance/egress points between the parking lot and East Avenue will be closed for widening.  One of the two spots will be open at all times while the other is closed.
The Library furniture and books will return on August 13. 
The parking lot will continue to be under heavy construction usage.  Only authorized automobiles should use the lot.  Please continue to drop off/pick up students one block away from the School.   The student entrance/exit will continue to be the Lawless Gymnasium Lower Level Doors on Washington Boulevard and the Business Office Doors on Scoville Avenue.

The contractors have been busy during the period between Memorial Day and the Fourth of July. Steel erection is 80% complete.  The crane is currently off site and will return when the project critical path timeline calls for the completion of steel erection.

The cement floors for the first two new LINK floors above the existing building have been poured.

The Fieldhouse Extension foundation is being excavated. 

The mason crews have arrived.  They will start setting the new brick walls for the LINK Expansion.

There will be a partial electric power shut down in that portion of the existing building which used to be the Old Swimming Pool.  This shut down will occur in July after the completion of Summer School.  It will allow for the transfer of electric power from the Old Maintenance Area to the New Maintenance Area.

There will be a more extensive electric power shut down in the existing building in early August.  This shut down will enable the electrical contractors to connect electrical service to the new building with electrical service to the existing building.  Auxiliary electrical service from generators will keep our technology system functioning during this shut down.
 
Summer School has continued to function in the midst of the construction.  That is a great credit to the students and faculty.  Ramzi Farran has been teaching Chemistry in the Old Chemistry Laboratory near the Student Cafeteria.  This is Fr. Fisher’s former room.  The Chief Executive Officer of five Fortune 500 Corporations learned chemistry in that space.

Steel erection has begun on the LINK Expansion.  The parking lot is now predominantly a construction zone.  Between June 01 and August 15 visitors to the school during school hours will enter the building through the Business Office Doors on Scoville Avenue.  Entrance to the building for any after hour usage of the building will need to be arranged with the leader of the particular activity.

The Library has been emptied and the book collection placed in storage.  The wall between the Library and the Laundry Room has been removed.

The Maintenance Office has moved into temporary space on the ground floor of the Auditorium.  Later this month they will move to their new home which was formerly the Gymnasium Girls’ Locker Room.

Tradesmen and faculty will be parking during the summer in an ancillary lot at the intersection of Oak Park Avenue and Madison Street.

For safety’s sake, we ask that Summer School students be neither dropped off nor picked up along the school frontage on East Avenue or Washington Boulevard.  The traffic light at the intersection of those two streets is a candidate for gridlock.  We ask that all drivers avoid that intersection.  Please stop your car a block from the school and allow your riders to walk to and from the building.  The safety of one of us is a higher priority than the convenience of all of us.

Summer sports camps will use the gymnasiums and the natatorium as usual.  However, pedestrian traffic in the LINK will be limited.  The LINK is within the “fall zone” of construction danger.  We will need to avoid walking in the LINK.  We will enter and exit the gymnasiums and natatorium through safe routes away from the LINK.

Construction continues on schedule.  We expect to have our new facilities for Second Semester in January, 2008.

During the Easter Break W E O’Neil demolished Room 59, Room G08, the Laundry Room, the Girls’ Gymnasium Locker Room, and the Dooley Conference Room.  The buses were moved in the parking lot.  The gas meter was relocated.

The steel beams are now under fabrication.  They will arrive just before Memorial Day Weekend.  To prepare for the erection of the steel beams we will do some welding on the roof over the next few weeks. 

The LINK glass doors and stairwell will be demolished in May.

Construction parking is in the lot at the intersection of Oak Park Avenue and Madison Street.

Students have been very conscientious about using neighborhood drop off  and pick up points away from the intersection of Washington Boulevard and East Avenue.  This is a very generous contribution of time and inconvenience on their part.  They have voted with their feet.  We are deeply grateful to them for their loyalty and support.  This is in the absolute best tradition of the Friar experience.

The construction trailer and dumpster's have arrived in our parking lot.  Soon the temporary fencing will block the flow of traffic in the alleys.  The LINK doors will be locked.  All building access/egress will move to the lower level doors to the Lawless Gymnasium on Washington Boulevard and the Business Office doors on Scoville Avenue.  We ask drivers neither to pick up nor to drop off students along the school frontage on East Avenue and Washington Boulevard between the hours of 7:00 am and 5:00 pm on school days.  We ask you to use the designated neighborhood stations two blocks from the school in each direction.

During the Easter Break from April 5 through April 15 the only open door to the school will be on Scoville Avenue at the bottom of the stairs.  Athletes and spectators for all sports will need to use this door during the vacation.

Room G08 and Room 59 have been closed.  The classes that meet in these spaces have moved to other locations.

The parking lot is now closed to student automobiles through Thanksgiving.

School and team buses will continue to load and unload in the parking lot.

The safety of one of us is more important than the convenience of all of us.  One giant step toward safety is the avoidance of the parking lot.  Buses will need to load and depart to meet train and game schedules.  The fewer the cars in the parking lot, the safer and the easier that will be.

Preliminary work for our physical facility expansion continued throughout this month

A construction trailer and dumpster will arrive in our parking lot prior to the Easter Break. Some areas near the building will be fenced for safety. 

Classrooms G08 and 59 will be closed as of April 1. The classes that meet in these rooms will be moved to other spaces.  Neither room will come back into service. Room G08, our former garage, will be part of an expanded Library.  Room 59 will be a corridor leading from the West Wing to the new science laboratories in the expanded LINK. 

The last day for student use of the Library will be May 18. After that date the Wrestling Room will be used as a quiet study area. Student research will be conducted in the Write Place. The books and furniture currently in the Library will be removed from the building and stored offsite during the Library expansion.

The last day to use the LINK Doors for building entrance/egress will be April 04.  After that date they will be in a construction hard hat zone. Building entrance/egress will be through the Business Office doors on Scoville Avenue and through the O’Brien doors beneath the Lawless Gymnasium off Washington Boulevard. 

The parking lot will be closed to student pick up and drop off after Easter Break. Students are asked to avoid the East Avenue/Washington Boulevard intersection. This is a potential gridlock traffic light. Students are asked to use neighborhood institutions for morning drop-off and afternoon pick-up. These institutions are each two blocks from the school in every cardinal direction. The utilization of these designated drop-off /pick-up locations will reduce traffic congestion and enhance safety. Letters and maps to this effect went home with the first semester report cards. Presentations about this request have been made to the students in classes this month.

The Dooley Conference Rom will be demolished during Easter Break. This space will eventually return to us as a reception area for the Development Office. At one time this area was a porch.  Fr. Zarlenga used it as an art studio when he created the beautiful stain glass windows in our chapel. We believe Fr. Dooley would take great pleasure in seeing the progress we are making with our physical plant expansion.  

A trailer will move into our parking lot during the last week of March.  This will be the office for the WE O’Neil Construction Company.

Work will begin the week before Easter Break on the demolition of the Laundry Room.  This space will become part of the new, expanded Library.

The gas meter will be moved to a new location outside of the school during Easter Break.
This will necessitate the discontinuation of gas service to the building for about 48 hours.

The LINK Doors will be closed on April 05 and will not be available until Thanksgiving.
The entrance/egress for the School will be on Washington Boulevard and Scoville Ave.

We will need to be conscious of traffic gridlock at two intersections.
They are East Ave/ Washington Blvd and East Ave/Madison St.
Gridlock leads to frustration.  This leads to risk taking. This causes accidents.

To advance the safety of all members, visitors, and guests to the School we ask
all drivers neither to drop off nor to pick up passengers along the school frontage on
Washington Boulevard and East Avenue.

We ask all drivers to use the following locations to drop off and to pick up passengers.
These locations will enable drivers to avoid the aforementioned two intersections.
These locations are;
     St Christopher Church at East and Adams south of the school
     Good Shepherd Church at East and Randolph north of the school
     Euclid Ave Methodist Church at Euclid and Washington west of the school
     Our Lady Immaculate Church at Ridgeland and Washington east of the school

We believe our students are very capable of walking two blocks to the school.
Promote fitness. Fight obesity. Advance safety. Avoid gridlock.  Be a Friar.
Please use the designated neighborhood locations.

Students have concerns about this plan should contact Dr. Lordan to share their thoughts
He is available in Room 405 daily at 7:30 am and 3:15 pm.
His email is glordan@fenwickfriars.com.
His phone is (708) 386-0127, #114.