Founded in 1846, the City of St. Charles School District has been a cornerstone of the community, contributing significantly to the city’s rich history. As the district prepared to renew an upcoming proposition, it recognized the necessity of developing a comprehensive long-range facilities master plan to ensure the prudent allocation of district funds.

Just over 10 years ago, prior to working with BLDD, the district sought a referendum. Community engagement was minimal and the community did not approve the plan. Utilizing BLDD’s planning process with QLEO in 2024, the community engagement was successful and the referendum passed 70/30 overall.

In January 2019, Mehlville School District embarked on an ambitious journey to reimagine its facilities for the next generation of learners. What began as a grassroots effort to assess facility needs has transformed into a $35 million comprehensive campus improvement initiative that touches every school in the district—all without increasing the tax burden on local residents.

Bradley-Bourbonnais Community High School (BBCHS) has been a cornerstone of the Bradley, Bourbonnais, and St. George communities for over 70 years. Built in 1948 to serve 300 students, the campus now supports nearly 2,000 students in grades 9–12. While the District maintained its facilities well, aging infrastructure and evolving educational needs created significant challenges.

As the Iowa City Community School District grappled with the challenges of rapid enrollment growth, aging facilities, equity concerns, and a desire for future-focused learning environments, they turned to the BLDD/Unicom•ARC team. The mission: conduct a comprehensive community engagement planning process to shape a long-term facilities master plan.

In 2017, District 186 embarked on a two-year comprehensive master plan that led to a successful sales-tax referendum. The journey involved the coordination and cooperation of many entities with differing missions uniting for a common goal.

The district first partnered with BLDD in 2010 to develop a comprehensive facilities assessment and improvement strategy that addressed both immediate challenges and long-term aspirations. This partnership came at a crucial time as the district implemented its “Righting the Ship” initiative, a strategic plan designed to ensure fiscal stability while maintaining educational excellence.

Expanding the junior high into a 5-8 facility, a 5th grade wing will be added to the junior high to accommodate growing enrollment, adding five highly functioning learning spaces and a new unit office. New lockers will be added to the 6th grade wing, which will also be the new home of the enhanced junior high weight room.