The Daily Dig
The Moline-Coal Valley School District broke ground March 25 on a $33.8 million expansion and renovation project at Lincoln-Irving Elementary School, 1015 16th Ave., Moline, Illinois.
Davenport-based Estes Construction is the general contractor. Legat Architects out of Moline handled the design. The project includes a 61,000 square foot addition and a 32,000 square foot renovation, effectively doubling the school's current size.
Construction starts in early April 2026. The completed facility is targeted to open in August 2027 for the 2027-28 school year, putting the total build window at 16 months.
During construction, all 365 current Lincoln-Irving students and staff relocate to Western Illinois University's Quad Cities campus in Moline beginning April 7, 2026, and remain there through the end of the 2026-27 school year.
When complete, the facility will be renamed the Robert Ontiveros Elementary School and will consolidate students from Lincoln-Irving and Willard Elementary. Willard has served the community for over 127 years and will retire once the project finishes. The expanded school is designed for 600 students.
A signed IMPACT agreement ties the project to regional union labor, with Superintendent Rachel Savage noting it brings the region's most skilled, trained union workers to the job to drive schedule, quality, and safety.
Project Snapshot:
Project Name: Robert Ontiveros Elementary School
Location: 1015 16th Ave., Moline, Illinois
Owner: Moline-Coal Valley School District
Superintendent: Rachel Savage
General Contractor: Estes Construction (Davenport, Iowa)
Architect: Legat Architects (Moline, Illinois)
Project Value: $33.8 million
Scope: 61,000 SF addition / 32,000 SF renovation
Sector: K-12 Education
Status: Groundbreaking March 25, 2026; Construction start early April 2026
Project Duration: 16 months
Estimated Completion: Summer 2027
Opening: August 2027 (2027-28 school year)
Current Enrollment: 365 students (Lincoln-Irving)
Projected Enrollment: 600 students (consolidated)
Schools Consolidated: Lincoln-Irving Elementary and Willard Elementary
Labor: Signed IMPACT agreement; regional union labor
Temporary Relocation: WIU Quad Cities campus, Moline (April 7, 2026 through 2026-27 school year)
School Namesake: Robert Ontiveros, founder of Group O
TheJobWalk Thoughts
The IMPACT agreement on this project is worth paying attention to. Union signatory work on K-12 education jobs in midsize markets isn't universal, and it signals a procurement approach that favors organized trades for schedule accountability and safety compliance. If you're a specialty sub working in the Quad Cities market, the question is whether your firm is positioned to work under that agreement.
The temporary student relocation puts real pressure on the schedule. Estes has a hard April 7 deadline before the site fully opens up, which means early demolition and utility work has to sequence around an occupied building. That compresses the pre-mobilization window in ways that don't always show up on a standard phasing plan.
Suppliers and material vendors in the region should be engaging Estes now. At $33.8 million across a combined addition and renovation scope, procurement conversations that start after permits pull are conversations that start too late.
