Due to growing enrollment, the Baltic High School completed a 157,000-square-foot addition and a 5,000-square-foot remodel of its existing building. The expansion includes a gymnasium, locker rooms, a performing arts center, commons space, a teachers' lounge, nurse's office, reception area, wrestling room, a versatile pods space, and shop, ag, FACS, science, music, choir, and standard classrooms.
A standout feature of the project is the new top-loaded competition gymnasium, which includes a running track and new locker rooms. Before this addition, visiting athletic teams had to utilize the music and art rooms as makeshift locker rooms, spaces that lacked restrooms and showers. The new performing arts center is another major improvement, fulfilling a long-held need for a dedicated performance space.
One of the project's main challenges was the extensive earthwork required, as the site sat on a large hill. The hill was removed and the addition was built into it, allowing the new main entrance to align with that grade, though it is technically located on the second floor.
