Batavia High School students help construct new Boardwalk Shops ahead of May opening

BATAVIA – Batavia High School students in the Building Trades II classes got some hands-on construction experience as they assembled two new Boardwalk Shops in downtown Batavia on April 9.

According to a news release from the school district, 35 students worked on the shops on the site of the economic development project at 114 E. Wilson St. The students have been building the frame kits in the school’s shop over the past few months.

Jamie Saam, Boardwalk Shops manager, credits the volunteer team at Batavia MainStreet for the success of this build. She said that Batavia MainStreet Board President Bob Hansen has been the driving force of the construction with assistance from Dave Brown, longtime Batavia alderman and now Kane County Board member. Hansen forged a relationship with Bronco Meeks, building trades teacher at BHS, and has carried the project forward, the release stated.

The building trades program at BHS built homes in the community for many years, but due to the declining housing market in the late 2000s, the program was forced to find other projects for the students.

“The building trades program at BHS experienced declining enrollment after the real hands-on projects out in the community ended in the late 2000s,” stated Assistant Principal Brian Gamlin. “We were looking for a way to transform the program to meet the demands of the construction industry. The partnership with Batavia MainStreet and the Boardwalk Shops has helped us develop a robust and full program again. This semester we had two full sections of Building Trades II for a total of 40 students.”

The group constructed the ninth and tenth Boardwalk Shops, and there is still room to expand the project to two more shops next year, the release stated.

“Through this economic development program, seven new businesses that operated out of the Boardwalk Shops last year have expanded out of their spaces to be brick and mortar renters in Batavia in 2021. That is a true indicator of the success of these incubator spaces,” Saam stated.

The Boardwalk Shops will open with 10 new businesses on May 28. For more information on the shops, visit downtownbatavia.com.