A year ago, Washington School District 52 voters overwhelmingly approved a $23 million referendum to build a new Lincoln Grade School on the 32-acre Washington Middle School campus.
On a warm, blustery spring morning Tuesday, ground was broken for the new school in a ceremony that included a reciting of the "Pledge of Allegiance" by a Lincoln kindergarten class and a performance by the Washington Middle School Jazz Band.
"This is a historic moment for our district," said District 52 Superintendent Pat Minasian, who led the ceremony, which was live-streamed back at Lincoln for plastic hard-hat wearing students.
The new Lincoln school, expected to open in time for the 2027-28 school year, will replace the original one built in 1949.
Despite additions, renovations and repairs through the years, the old Lincoln is aging, has out-of-date and insufficient infrastructure, and isn't suitable for today's education needs.
In an effort that began in 2018, the district eventually decided to build a new Lincoln instead of extensively renovating the old one. That effort culminated this week.
The original plan was for the new school to be about 65,000 square feet.
That's been reduced to about 60,400 square feet, but the estimated building cost of $24.5 million is now about $23.4 million because all but two of the 25 bid packages came in lower than estimates, Minasian said.
New features have been added, including a bus barn on the campus that will serve both Lincoln and Washington Middle School, the district's two schools. The current bus barn for both schools is at Lincoln.
About 400 students are enrolled this school year at Lincoln and Washington Middle School, with about 30 more students at K-4 Lincoln.
So the new two-school campus at 110 N. Main Street, with connected buildings, will initially serve about 800 students.
The new Lincoln will have larger classrooms than the original building, 21st-century learning spaces, a gym, and will house the district offices, currently at the old Lincoln.
Minasian said it will be bittersweet when the transition is made from the old to the new Lincoln because of all the memories made at the original school.
"But this is great for our district," he said, noting there will be information on the project over the next several months, including a time-lapse video, on the district's website, d52schools.com.
Last year's referendum passed with 62% of more than 2,300 ballots cast. Two years earlier, a similar $20 million referendum failed by just 68 votes out of more than 1,600.
What changed voters' minds?
Minasian attributed better communication with the public and a more detailed look at what the new Lincoln would look like for the turnaround in the vote.
With the passage of the referendum, District 52 residents will pay more property taxes to the district.
For example, those with a home valued at $200,000 will pay about $25 more per month for 25 years.
Midwest Construction Professionals of Morton is the construction manager for the Lincoln project. The architect is PCM + Design of Peoria.
It appears the Washington Park District will purchase the old Lincoln from District 52. The school, located on a 13-acre site at 303 Jackson Street, is close to several park district properties.
"We're still working through the final details to come up with a purchase price," Minasian said. "We both have a pretty good idea of fair market value but with us being public entities, we want to meet somewhere where it makes sense and is fair for all involved."
If the park district buys Lincoln, it's expected to close its current building at 105 S. Spruce Street, the former site of Washington Middle School, and either close or demolish the facility.
"We've given our current building 20 or so years of a good second life, but it's getting old," said Park District Executive Director Brian Tibbs.
