A Catholic high school on the North Side of Chicago plans to move to a campus a few blocks away after buying a 17-acre site from a for-profit higher education company.
DePaul College Prep has announced that it has acquired the academic buildings and campus from Adtalem Global Education, formerly known as DeVry Institute. The site is a few blocks south of the existing high school along the north branch of the Chicago River.
The high school's existing campus opened in 1961 when the school was known as Gordon Technical High School. It was renamed DePaul College Prep in 2014 when it formed a partnership with DePaul University, the nation's largest Catholic university, whose campus is a few miles to the southeast.
Officials say they expect the new campus to be ready for high school students for the 2020-21 school year. DePaul Prep now has an enrollment of about 500 students and expects those numbers to increase to 600 when the new campus opens.
“With this acquisition, DePaul College Prep can give both current and future generations of students and faculty an academically rigorous, faith-based learning experience on our own spacious and modern campus,” says DePaul Prep President Mary A. Dempsey.
The buildings on DePaul Prep’s new campus are ADA-compliant and equipped with technology, spacious classrooms, modern science labs and air conditioning. After some internal renovations, the west building and new turf athletic fields for football, soccer and lacrosse will be ready in August 2020.
“The modern classrooms and offices on the new campus are ideal for our students and faculty,” says Principal Megan Stanton-Anderson. “We will be adding a chapel, more science labs, STEM and art rooms, and a modern dining hall for the start of the 2020-21 school year.”
DePaul Prep also plans to construct an athletic complex featuring multiple gymnasiums, a pool and track facilities on its new campus.
The architect for the expansion is Moody Nolan, and the contractor is Bulley & Andrews.
