Access to the Niles West school campus will change beginning March 31, 2025, the day students return from Spring Break, due to the start of an 18-month construction project. The project includes a three-story addition, in the location of the current main office, that is intended to improve safety, routing and sustainability, as well as create more student-centered spaces in the building, according to Assistant Principal Steve Parnther.
Students and staff can expect changes to traffic patterns during busy drop-off and pick-up times.
Pick-up and drop-off vehicles should follow signage and traffic control directions using the photo (below) that was shared in communications from West administration and is available on the school website dedicated to information about construction.
Parents, guardians and other visitors will access the campus via Oakton Street, either east Oakton at Menard or west Oakton near the football field. They should follow the roundabout at either Oakton entrance to drop off students at doors 6 and 7, near the nurses’ office, or door 24, near the Black Box theatre. A video on the school website illustrates this procedure.
Only buses and staff will access the campus via Gross Point Rd. Buses will drop off students at entrance door 13, the South Lobby.
Sophomore Sara Pekovic was concerned about the new traffic pattern.
“It’s already bad on Oakton St. because they have a closed street, and I hope they don’t close anything else down. They should wait until summer because this is going to add time to my drive to school, which is annoying, and it’s going to cause commotion in the parking lot,” Pekovic said.
Construction on Oakton St. is expected to continue through fall of this year.
The three-story addition (41,748 square feet) will be added to the current location of the main office. This will result in relocated spaces for the main office, deans, attendance and student services. Some staff previously stationed in the main office will now be located in the testing center, which will be moved to room 1646.
With the completed addition, the first floor will gain enhanced safety features. Additionally, four classrooms, two labs and two learning studios will be added. 10 new multipurpose and meeting spaces will be added to the first floor for staff. Students can expect a new Wolf Den and Students Commons for study halls or lunch. Second-floor spaces will primarily support student services. The third floor will have flexible learning spaces. An overview of the project was shared at a Jan. 2024 school board meeting.
Junior Ryan Karem is interested to see what effect the addition will have on student collaboration, and for now, he is predicting a positive outcome.
“I think the new addition is a great idea. I think what they’re building will help improve the community in terms of teamwork and making new friends and other things like that, and I think it will be a good addition to our school,” Karem said.
Sophomore Muhammad Junaid is also expecting positive results from the new addition.
“The addition looks pretty cool and interesting, and it’s going to be exciting to see how they’re going to build this new addition and how the students can utilize the space,” Junaid said.
Parnther plans to keep students, staff and parents aware of changes happening on campus.
“We will communicate updates through multiple channels to ensure everyone is informed. This will include videos, emails, and other messaging platforms. Additionally, we plan to involve students in creating informational videos. Parents and guardians can check their contact information and preferences in Campus Portal to make sure you receive the latest updates,” Parnther said.
Not including added instructional space on the third floor, the estimated preliminary cost of the work was 35.2 million dollars. The work is expected to be completed in August 2026.
