Peoria Notre Dame Aims to Build Anew

By CATHARINE SCHAIDLE
OF THE JOURNAL STAR
Posted Jun 18, 2008 @ 07:56 PM
Last update Jun 19, 2008 @ 10:24 AM

PEORIA —
Peoria Notre Dame High School is gearing up for a $60 million capital campaign to build a modern new campus in North Peoria.

The earliest the new facility would open at the donated land on Willow Knolls Road is fall 2012.
A yearlong study conducted by the Reid Group concluded that the private Catholic high school needs to be remodeled or a new school needs to be built. Notre Dame owns more than 40 acres on Willow Knolls, sufficient space for a new campus and athletic complex.

At a town hall meeting Tuesday night, the Notre Dame community was given information and encouraged to ask questions about plans for the new school, said Susie Cicciarelli, executive assistant to the school's president.

Handouts meant to answer some of the most common questions about the project noted that construction wouldn't begin until the capital campaign raised sufficient funds. At the same time, the handout noted: "We believe that staying in the current location is not an option. We are 100 percent committed to building a new school and are confident based on interviews with students, parents, faculty and others that this project will move forward."

Another question was about increased tuition. While raising tuition is not the way to finance the project, officials said, a tuition increase is a possibility based on current economic conditions.
Anne Gray of Peoria, whose eldest son will be a sophomore at Notre Dame, said she was pleased with the way the meeting was conducted.

"There wasn't a whole lot of new information but it went well and I'm anxious to see what comes out of future meetings," Gray said. "I still have some questions as to what other options we could have explored other than building a new facility."

The school hopes to select a consultant by July to conduct a feasibility study to determine how much money it can raise.

"We already have interviews set up with some companies from outside of the area," Cicciarelli said.

The school community also is encouraged to go to its Web site, - peorianotredame.com - to download an evaluation form designed by Converse Marketing of Peoria to "clarify who they are and why they are different and better" for marketing and recruitment purposes.
The new school will be built in phases. The campus will include a chapel, gymnasium, football stadium, soccer and baseball fields, swimming pool and tennis courts. Until the consultants present their findings, however, Cicciarelli said they have no way of knowing when the first phase could begin or how much would be needed to finance even that portion of it. The fundraising campaign could begin in March.

Notre Dame's enrollment for this fall is 850 students. Cicciarelli said the school has seen a gradual increase in enrollment over the past few years.

"Our hope is to build a school for 1,200 students," she said. When a new campus is built, the current one at the corner of Sheridan Road and Glen Avenue, valued at $8 million, will no longer be used. Cicciarelli said no decision has been made about its future.

"Catharine Schaidle can be reached at 686-3290 or cschaidle@pjstar.com.