Ida Crown Jewish Academy Opens in Illinois

CHICAGO, Ill. – Lendlease recently celebrated the opening of Ida Crown Jewish Academy in Skokie, Illinois. Lendlease successfully served as the construction manager for the new 90,000-square-foot school.

Located in the former Rand McNally headquarters built in the early 1950s, the existing building was once used as a corporate headquarters and printing facility for the famous mapmaker.

Working in a partnership with Ida Crown Jewish Academy, Project Management Advisors and Amstadter Architects, Lendlease implemented an adaptive reuse construction strategy that included the reuse of as much of the existing structure as possible rather than demolishing and building anew. This process allowed the construction team to use less energy and produce less waste during construction through the revitalization of the existing structure, transforming it into a state-of-the art education facility.

The new campus includes a 10,000-square-foot gymnasium addition to the existing 80,000-square-foot building.The campus is home to four laboratories, 30 classrooms, cafeteria facilities, library facilities, religious instructional spaces, administrative spaces, offices/lounges, mechanical/storage and an athletic field.