Loyola Academy Proposes Ambitious Campus Construction Plan

WILMETTE, IL – Loyola Academy announced plans this week to launch a multi-phase construction project to revitalize its Wilmette campus over the course of several years. The Catholic school with about 2,000 enrolled students will present its campus master plan to the village's Zoning Board of Appeals in September to seek approval for the first phase of its construction. Groundbreaking has been slated for next spring.

Upgrades will include a new aquatic center, additional and realigned parking, a student commons and resource center, administrative offices and the construction of a 700-seat theater for the performing arts. Further improvements will include more efficient pedestrian connections and circulation routes, as well as onsite traffic management and pickup/drop-off lanes contiguous to traffic patterns. In line with Loyola’s commitment to sustainability, the plan also prioritizes the retention of green space west of Laramie Avenue and calls for the creation of energy-efficient learning spaces.

“This is a transformative moment for Loyola Academy,” says Rev. Patrick E. McGrath, SJ, the school’s president. “This building project is a part of our strategic plan and represents the next step in bringing our vision for the future of Loyola to fruition. It’s a tremendous opportunity that will be looked upon as a milestone in the history of Loyola Academy.”

Working with The Lakota Group, a Chicago-based urban planning firm; the school’s campus master planning committee; other members of the Loyola community; the management of the Village of Wilmette; and local residents, Loyola has developed a plan that will serve its students and support its mission, while respecting the surrounding community that the school has called home for 60 years.

Plans for Loyola’s new aquatic center include a 10-lane, IHSA-approved competition-size pool. The new aquatic center will continue Loyola’s tradition of excellence in athletics and foster opportunities for increased student use and programming.

The first phase of construction will also include improvements such as additional student spaces, flexible green space, crosswalks, landscape buffers, defined campus edges, enhanced plaza space, bike rack locations and more.

“We are eager to move forward with these exciting enhancements,” adds Father McGrath. “Our Jesuit mission demands that we always seek to make a more creative and generous response to God’s invitation. Our revitalized campus will enable us to form future generations of Ramblers in the transformative experience of Jesuit education.”

Loyola Academy will celebrate its 60th year in Wilmette in September 2017. The Jesuit college preparatory school serves approximately 2,000 students annually. During the 2016–17 academic year, students traveled to Loyola from 89 different urban and suburban zip codes. Twenty-three percent of the student population received $3.8 million in need-based financial aid. More than 98 percent of the 510 graduates in Loyola’s Class of 2017 will be attending four-year colleges and universities in the fall. Currently, there are more than 24,000 Loyola Academy alumni worldwide.

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