Crow Island School project gets necessary Village approval

It takes a village, and Winnetka is buying into that mantra with a renovation project at historic Crow Island School.

Winnetka Public Schools District 36, the Winnetka Park District and the Village of Winnetka are all playing a part in the construction of an addition to the elementary school.

During its meeting on April 2, the Winnetka Village Council signed off on two resolutions — a plat of subdivision and special-use permit — that will enable the project.

The approvals allow the school district to move forward with a 14,568-square-foot addition to support a new gymnasium for the school, which is also adding at least three classrooms and a cafeteria (in the old gymnasium space).

The addition required the park district to convey an 8,000-square-foot strip of land , which the Park Board approved in July 2023. The board also OK’d gifting a separate 26,000-square-foot piece of land where one of the school’s playground has been for decades. The district plans to upgrade the playground.

The school’s improvements are possible thanks to a successful referendum in 2022 that resulted in $56.4 million in district borrowing and an estimated $929 more in property taxes for every $1 million of home value.

Making the renovations more complicated, Crow Island School is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, and the project had to undergo an added layer of review from the Illinois Department of Natural Resources.

Additionally, the Village is installing underground stormwater storage on in Crow Island Woods, a project that has the collaboration of the school district and park district.

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