Elementary school construction costs: CPS vs. UNO

Elementary school construction costs: CPS vs. UNO

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The Public Building Commission of Chicago manages school construction projects and renovations for Chicago Public Schools.

The following chart shows costs and construction duration times for recent elementary school projects.

The new UNO Soccer Academy school is the lowest cost elementary school constructed in recent years. But because it’s built for fewer students, the UNO school cost taxpayers thousands more per seat. Construction times at the UNO school were significantly lower.

CPS Elementary School Year Opened Total Project Cost Square Feet Student Seats Cost per Seat Construction Duration
Dr. Jorge Prieto Math & Science Academy 2009 $36,852,201 105,576 900 $40,947 14 months
Mark T. Skinner Elementary School 2009 $32,869,750 101,000 742 $44,299 16 months
Irene C. Hernandez 2009 $39,473,359 126,748 1230 $32,092 15 months
Lorca Elementary School 2010 $31,799,017 104,709 900 $35,332 17 months
West Ridge Elementary School 2010 $33,735,131 105,177 900 $37,483 17 months
Mariano Azuela Elementary School 2010 $31,133,510 105,177 900 $34,593 16 months
Calmeca Academy 2010 $38,509,021 105,177 900 $42,788 15 months
Ogden International School of Chicago* 2011 $54,066,653 109,000 900 $60,074 19 months
Adam Clayton Powell, Jr. Paideia Academy 2011 $29,333,914 104,709 900 $32,593 17 months
AVERAGE CPS $36,419,173 107,475 919 $39,624 16.2 months
AVERAGE CPS excluding Ogden $34,213,238 107,284 922 $37,128 15.9 months
UNO Soccer Academy 2011 $27,000,000 63,300 580 $46,552 10 months

*Project cost at Ogden is higher due to underground parking facility.

 Total Project Cost includes cost of construction and other costs such as land acquisition, site remediation, and site development.

Source: Chicago Building Commission of Chicago and UNO

CORRECTION: A correction was made to this story on 9/19/2011 at 10:30am.  An earlier version of this chart misstated the average cost per seat of a new CPS grammar school. That cost is $39,624. If Ogden International is excluded, the average cost per seat is $37,128.