University News
CDB Funding for WIU-QC Riverfront Bldg. 2
July 14, 2010
MOLINE, IL – The Illinois Capital Development Board (CDB) has released $4 million for the next step of architectural and engineering design for Building Two on the Western Illinois University-Quad Cities Riverfront Campus. Construction/renovation of Building One, the former John Deere Technical Center, is underway.
The CDB approved the selection of Holabird & Root of Chicago to provide design services for Building Two at the CDB meeting yesterday (July 13) in Chicago. Local members of Holabird's design team are KJWW Engineering Consultants of Rock Island (engineering services) and McClure Engineering Associates of East Moline (civil work). Other consultants included in the Building Two planning include Primera Engineers of Chicago (Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design [LEED] commissioning), Site Design Group of Chicago (landscape design) and Faithful & Gould of Chicago (cost estimating).
"We are appreciative of the Capital Development Board's continued support of our Quad Cities Riverfront Campus expansion," said WIU President Al Goldfarb. "It is because of many local, regional and state partnerships the WIU-Quad Cities Riverfront Campus has become a reality."
In 2003, a donation from Deere & Company of 20 acres of land on the Moline riverfront provided significant momentum for an expanded WIU-QC campus. Planning began on building an additional campus on the riverfront to serve more students, and collaborative relationships were formed with the city of Moline, Renew Moline and the Illinois Quad City Chamber of Commerce, among many others, to develop the riverfront into an educational, business and technology mecca. Funds for renovation of Building One, and the planning and construction of Building Two were part of the 2009 Illinois Jobs Now capital construction bill signed into law by Gov. Pat Quinn.
"As construction progresses on Building One, we are closer to our grand opening. We will start classes at our new facility no later than Spring 2012, and thanks to the support and generosity of the state, Building Two will soon become a reality as well," said Joe Rives, vice president of Quad Cities, planning and technology.
Construction on the 60,000-square-foot Building One (Phase 1 of the Riverfront Campus project), which will be a silver LEED-certified facility, began last month. Building One will support the College of Business and Technology, including the School of Engineering that is currently housed in The Caxton Building; academic and student services; and University administration. The total cost to renovate Building One is $15.2 million.
"We are pleased to assist Western Illinois University as it moves forward with the next phase of its Riverfront Campus. The facility will train students for in-demand careers, plus construction jobs will be created as the campus is built. This is an ideal project for the Quad Cities area," said Capital Development Board Executive Director Jim Riemer.
Building Two will allow for the continued growth of the Quad Cities campus and enable existing and new academic programs in the colleges of Arts and Sciences, Education and Human Services and Fine Arts and Communication to be part of the Riverfront Campus. A programming study for Building Two (Phase II) began in February 2010, which defined building components for the second facility's construction, as well as refining the Campus Master Plan. According to Rives, the design of the approximately 90,000-square-foot Building Two will take approximately one year to complete. The estimated cost to construct Building Two is $42 million.
"We are fortunate to move forward with the design for Building Two, thereby preserving the momentum and excitement of creating a truly unique university campus experience along the Mississippi River," said Bill Brewer, University architect and director of facilities-Quad Cities.
Western offered its first extension course in the Quad Cities region in Fall 1912, while the first official undergraduate class was offered in 1960. Western currently serves more than 1,400 students at its current 60th Street campus in Moline and in seven other facilities throughout the Quad Cities.
To view architects' renderings of the proposed WIU-QC Riverfront Campus renovation, visit wiu.edu/qc/community/campus.php and wiu.edu/users/caitwp/planning/plan/riverfront/index.html. With the completion of the Riverfront Campus, WIU-QC -- the only public university in the Quad Cities region -- anticipates serving more than 3,000 students.
Posted By: Darcie Shinberger (U-Communications@wiu.edu)
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