School moves ahead with Silver Cross plan
JOLIET -- Joliet Township High School board took the next step forward in its master plan for expanding the green space between Joliet Central campus and Silver Cross Field by buying the missing piece.
The board agreed to purchase the DelRose building at 127 Van Buren St. for $110,000 Oct. 20.
(Submitted rendering/Wight and Joliet Township High School District)
The DelRose building, a garage, is about 25 feet wide by 100 feet long. The building is next to the Rendel's building, which is on about 4 acres that the school district bought about three years ago.
The plan is to demolish those buildings on Van Buren early next year, putting in green space and athletic fields to be used for sports, physical education classes and community use, said Rich Pagliaro, assistant superintendent of business and personnel.
The purchase is part of the district's master plan to expand its athletic fields which are needed as JTHS brings back two varsity teams next fall -- one for each high school -- Joliet West and Joliet Central.
The district may issue up to a $5 million bond to install turf and make other renovations, such as putting in lockers at Silver Cross Field, Pagliaro said. However, thanks to the economic stimulus package, the district may not have to pay back 100 percent on the interest of the bond. Instead, the district may only have to pay 55 percent to 60 percent of the interest.
Pagliaro said it will cost about $2.5 million to redo Eastern Avenue, demolish the buildings and put in green space.
And, then another $2.5 million to put in the artificial turf and for other improvements at Silver Cross Field.
Using Silver Cross Field as a home stadium for Joliet Central will be cheaper than building a facility which could cost $15 million to $20 million, Pagliaro said.
The project includes artificial turf and expansion of the field to make room for football and soccer. The costs would be paid by the school district.
One of the design options is to alter the field so it would eliminate all clay in the infield and utilize a portable pitcher's mound that would be wheeled off when baseball wasn't being played.
The field is now home to the Joliet JackHammers and also is used for University of St. Francis baseball.
Both the JackHammers and USF officials have voiced support for the school district's plans.
Originally, the district had hoped to put in larger locker rooms, but it required a larger expense, Pagliaro said. The board and administration agreed the football teams can dress in the current locker rooms at the Central Campus.
If the district can't work out a deal to use Silver Cross Field for football in 2010, they will have to wait until 2011, Pagliaro said. In the meantime, they are working on other options, such as using the field in the back of the district's Alternate School on Collins Street.
The school district wants to take over Van Buren Street and use Eastern Avenue for limited traffic so students won't have to worry about walking across traffic for P.E. classes, he said.
"Our goal is to basically close Eastern Avenue down for regular traffic," he said. "It still may be used for pickup and drop-off to alleviate congestion. It would be much tighter control."
On Monday, when Superintendent Paul Swanstrom presented the idea to the Joliet City Council and the city expressed interest, saying they would have to determine the impact on traffic flow.
"It's been a long-term dream of the district to really, to create this campus environment," Pagliaro said. "We are in the heart of a large city and we really want to have and maintain a campus environment and there isn't really a lot of green space around us.
"It has been a goal and desire of the board, and the city agreed with us. They want to see improvements east of railroad tracks and draw more people and further activities," he said.
"We are working very hard together to see that happen. ... We just want to maximize the use of the land and the facilities that the taxpayers are paying for."
Comment on this story.
heraldnewsonline.com
