Publication: Illinois Business Journal, October 2021

Poettker Construction has a long history of partnering with K-12 schools and districts to bring their campus development initiatives to the next level. These collaborative relationships are founded on mutual respect, professionalism, integrity, safety, quality and dedication to the client’s needs and goals. Poettker’s reputation of providing superb customer-focused services has provided the tools to grow primarily through repeat clients and referrals.

A true testament to Poettker’s longstanding relationships and quality work is its partnership with Freeburg Community High School District No. 77. In the late 1990s, Poettker built a school wing for the district that was designed with the intent for a future second story addition. Today, Poettker Construction is serving as the construction manager for that 2nd story addition, with renovations to the 1st floor for the high school.

Due to enrollment growth and infrastructure concerns, Freeburg High School identified a need for additional STEM laboratory and classroom space. The district elected to expand vertically and returned to Poettker as their trusted contractor to ensure a successful project. The campus improvement project entails a new 18,500-sqaure-foot second story, a new hydraulic elevator, and complete interior renovations to the walls, flooring, ceilings, finishes, electrical, plumbing and fire protection.

“The Freeburg High School Improvement project required proactive preconstruction planning, detailed constructability reviews, and discussions about master planning for the campus to ensure this addition supports the district’s overall growth, program strategy and community needs for years to come,” said Ryan Poettker, president of Poettker Construction.

Poettker’s construction management team engaged in early preconstruction planning to work through not only means and methods of constructing the second story addition above the existing classroom wing, but also engaged its Corporate Compliance Team to ensure constructability details such as first floor structural bracing enhancements were critically examined, discussed, and vetted with the architectural and engineering team prior to implementation.

Like most school districts, scheduling and cost constraints are critical. With the district having flexibility of remote learning, the team implemented a plan to get started early to ensure the district would be ready to safely return kids back to school on the first floor in the fall, on schedule.

Construction and renovations are anticipated to wrap up in fall 2021, with students using the entire facility beginning January 2022.