The Consolidated District 158 – Algonquin Campus is a 220-acre master planned school site intended to service students from kindergarten through high school. The campus includes an administration building, a transportation facility, two elementary schools, a middle school and a site for a future high school.
District 158 services the communities of Huntley, Algonquin and Lake-in-the-Hills. Due to the explosive residential growth or these communities in the 1990’s, the district was experianceing enrollment growth of 15% to 20% per year. In order to meet the educational needs of the community despite this unprecedented growth, the district decided to purchase a 220-ac parcel in Algonquin for a new master planned school campus. After the initial intent to purchase the property was finalized, Manhard Consulting was hired to provide a due diligence report to identify any issues on the property. Our report outlined several Village fees (totaling over $1,000,000) as well as off-site sewer and roadway improvements and timelines needed for the development. This allowed the district to budget accordingly for their campus project prior to construction.
After the due diligence phase was completed, Manhard Consulting was brought into the project to assist the project architect with the master plan and site layout. Following the original master plan would have resulted in significant wetland and floodplain impacts. Manhard Consulting revised the land plan to avoid all floodplain fill and minimize the wetland impacts to <0.25ac. We also interviewed members of the district staff concerning bus traffic, parent drop-off and faculty parking. Based on those conversations, we initiated changes to the site plan that resulted in simpler, more efficient traffic flow that was consistent with the client’s operational needs.
Manhard Consulting was responsible for all of the aspects of the infrastructure design which included a main campus collector road, a 15” collector sewer and lift station, several parking lots, stormwater detention system and a 16” watermain.
During construction, Manhard Consulting provided assistance by reviewing change orders, performing periodic site visits and providing field sketches as needed to clarify the intent of the contract documents.