THE LOOP — The Public Building Commission unanimously approved building annexes at three of the city's elementary schools on Tuesday.

The annexes, which Chicago Public Schools officials say will help ease crowding, were proposed in CPS's $423 million capital plan released in May.

Construction is projected to cost upwards of $25 million to build the annexes at the three CPS schools: Richard Edwards Elementary School, 4815 S. Karlov Ave; Arthur Canty Elementary School, 3740 N. Panama Ave.; and Minnie Mars Jamieson Elementary School, 5650 N. Mozart St.

The $18 million annex to be built at Canty Elementary will include 16 classrooms and a lunchroom that will double as a multipurpose room. Annexes at Edwards Elementary and Jamieson Elementary are expected to cost approximately $4 million each.

In proposing the annexes, CPS officials said the three schools were among the most crowded in the district, and demand in the neighborhoods is expected to rise in the future.

The commission also approved an $11 million "modernization project" for Dunne Technology Academy in Roseland. The project will help CPS institute its a STEM model — a focus on science, technology, engineering and math — at the school.

The project will include building new science and engineering labs as well as a new turf field at the school.

Before voting to approve the measure, Mayor Rahm Emanuel said he believes the project will benefit all of Roseland.

"It's not going to be a great project only for the school but for the community as a whole," Emanuel told the commission.

All measures were unanimously approved by the commission.

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