Facilities and Construction

View of Project 2 Exterior from Scoville Ave

Imagine OPRF Project 2 Pool

We’re excited about completing our new physical education facilities this fall! A common question is whether the new 25-yard x 40-yard pool will be available to the community. We have established partnerships that will continue, for instance, with the Park District of Oak Park and the West Suburban Special Recreation Association (WSSRA). However, we’re also planning ways to expand general community use of the pool while working around our full curricular and athletic schedules. Among the options we’re considering are Sundays, a weekday evening, periodic community open swims, and some summer hours. Stay tuned for more information in the coming months! (Scroll down for more Project 2 information.)

Click here to see the Project 2 financial dashboard, with updates on expenditures throughout construction.

Click here for our Project 2 web cam, with a new live photo every 15 minutes.

Imagine OPRF Act 3

See the December 2025 slide deck with more details on Act 3.

With Project 2 well underway, in March 2025, the district turned its attention to the third phase of the Imagine Plan, which we are calling Act 3. Performing arts take center stage in this phase, which replaces century-old facilities at the southwest end of the building with new facilities for all music classes and the black-box theatre, as well as several PE spaces that will be demolished in Act 3.

Act 3 has not been approved to be constructed yet, as there are several preliminary stages being completed first.

March - December 2025: The district worked with FGM architects to determine the current needs for the programs that use the facilities and to work through several iterations of a concept design.
Dec. 18, 2025, Regular Meeting: Board reviewed concept design.
Jan. 15, 2026: Board approved moving into schematic design, which produces more detailed drawings and a cost estimate for the project.
May 2026 and beyond: Board will receive the schematic design. The estimated cost will be presented. The Board will need to determine the scope of the project and funding options prior to approving construction of Act 3.

Imagine OPRF Project 2
Imagine OPRF Project 1

Imagine OPRF Project 2

On April 27, 2023, the Board of Education unanimously approved funding the $102 million cost of Imagine OPRF Project 2 with a combination of cash reserves, philanthropic donations, and debt certificates. The project broke ground in summer 2024, with completion in summer 2026.

The second phase of Imagine OPRF focuses on building a new physical education wing at the southeast (Scoville and Lake) corner of the building. This will replace the current structure there and does not include the Fieldhouse.

The replacement wing will include:

A 25-yard x 40-yard pool and spectator balcony to replace the two current pools, which were built in 1928
Larger, flexible, multi-use gyms that can serve as a competition space and replace small, limited use gyms
All-gender locker rooms for gender non-conforming students
Performing arts dressing rooms (boys, girls, and all gender)
An elevator that complies with accessibility requirements
A multi-purpose/dance gym
A weight room
Boys locker rooms to replace the current ones, which have a host of issues (poor ventilation, plumbing problems, inadequate toilet space, etc.)
Girls locker rooms
PE classrooms, PE and athletics offices, PE equipment storage and a conference room to replace the ones removed during demolition
Improvements to the performing arts green room, which does not meet student needs
Costume shop/storage, prop shop/storage
An expanded treatment room for athletic trainers that addresses inadequate space and inaccessibility issues
Student commons and pre-function space
Gre en roof to manage stormwater runoff

Project 2 will accommodate some functions that currently are in the southwest Physical Education area of the building, including boys locker rooms, the West Pool, and the trainer’s room. This will make space for moving performing arts to the southwest area of the building, which is called for in the conceptual design for Project 3.

The funding plan that the Board approved involves borrowing $45.3 million in debt certificates, which do not require a referendum nor create an additional tax levy. Instead, the debt certificates will be repaid from the district’s annual operating budget in annual increments of $3.5 million over a period of 20 years. The funding plan also includes $44.2 million from cash reserves and $12.5 million in donations raised by the Imagine Foundation.

Imagine OPRF Project 1

In June 2020, Oak Park and River Forest High School began the most significant renovations to its campus in 50 years, funded entirely from existing cash reserves, thereby avoiding a tax increase to property owners and preserving the district’s debt-free status.

The district is working with FGM Architects and Pepper Construction on design and construction of Project 1, which broke ground in June 2020 and was completed in August 2023. The project includes:

Replacement of the South Cafeteria
Addition of a two-story Student Resource Center
Renovation of the Main Entrance and Welcome Center
Renovation of the Student Activities Center, now called the Student Commons
Renovation and addition of Special Education offices and conference rooms
Relocation/renovation of Driver Education classrooms
Eight new all-gender washrooms
Relocation/renovation of mailroom and duplicating
New ADA-compliant elevator
Renovation of freight elevator
Renovations of 65 classrooms, including our special education TEAM classrooms and visual arts labs
Addition of 15 new classrooms, including two science labs, in the old library and Tutoring Center spaces

Imagine OPRF Overview

Imagine OPRF is our five-phase, long-term capital projects plan, created by the Imagine OPRF Work Group. The group was formed in 2017 and was charged by the Board of Education with making recommendations for a fiscally responsible facilities plan that supports equity and current and future academic programming needs.

The core Imagine team comprised 30 community members and 10 employees, who conducted a year and a half of intensive research with hundreds of stakeholders. This community-based process produced a multi-phase plan that upholds three guiding principles: to be needs driven, student centered, and equity focused.

More Info

Imagine Foundation

The Oak Park and River Forest High School Imagine Foundation is a nonprofit organization supporting vital facilities improvements outlined in the Imagine OPRF Master Facilities Plan. The foundation inspires philanthropic giving to support the creation of modern learning spaces to meet the educational needs of all OPRF students now and into the future. For more information, click here.

PE Facilities Are Learning Spaces

Learn more from OPRF Physical Education teachers: