DUNLAP, Ill. – Construction had just begun on a $8.5 million training center before Dunlap school leaders decided to add on to it, raising the square footage and price.
The corner of Cedar Hills Drive and Legion Hall Road became a construction site earlier this year for the new Dunlap Training Center. But, the project was put on hold in mid-May after a special school board meeting where members voted to expand the facility.
The blueprint for the center includes resources for several sports teams, including dance, golf, and volleyball, as well as a 165-meter track and three basketball courts. Now, the track will measure 200 meters and include four courts.
Superintendent Dr. Scott Dearman tells 25 News the extra time, money, and land would be a worthwhile investment for students in the long run.
“We have one opportunity to build this, and [the board members] wanted to build it the right way the first time,” Dearman said.
The superintendent said the original plan placed the building closer to Cedar Hills Drive and the parking lot on the declining slope closer to the school. Under the new plan, the building was too long to fit in its original spot. The entities involved recommended flipping the orientation and building a 19-foot retaining wall to support the training center.
At a special meeting, Dunlap School Board members approved allocating up to $4 million to fix the location.
Since that meeting in May, Dearman said school leaders made a deal with a local farmer to swap land and gain some additional ground to extend the building site where it sits.
Dearman estimates that without having to build a retaining wall, the district will save nearly $1 million as it pays for the expansion.
“There’s no such thing as something being, quote-unquote, ‘dirt cheap.’ Dirt is not cheap no matter what you do with it,” Dearman said.
Laborers waiting about two weeks for the new, larger blueprints, Dearman said they had to pay crews $2,000 a day to stand by.
Dearman hopes the effort put into this project will pay off with happy athletes and the possibility of large sporting events, like volleyball and basketball tournaments and track meets.
Village Board President Roger Nelson said he was happy to hear that the school board approved increasing the size of the facility.
“We don’t have that many businesses in the village per se, but it’s still great to have the increased flow and get some more exposure because it’ll help out the community overall,” Nelson said.
The only drawback Nelson is concerned about is the flow of traffic, but he said if that’s handled correctly, the training center will be a win for everyone in the village.
Before this project, Dearman said the school district had $38 million in reserves.
The superintendent hopes to have the Dunlap Training Center open by next summer.
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