Illinois State University is now looking to hire a general contractor to lead construction of a new on-campus residence hall and dining center.
The South Campus residence hall would house up to 900 students, with a dining hall attached providing room for up to 425 students. Aondover Tarhule, president of Illinois State, said the extra space would ease pressures on campus — including potential needed renovations at existing residence halls.
ISU put out for bids from potential general contractors Oct. 8, with bids due Nov. 10, according to a posting in the Illinois Procurement Bulletin. ISU officials expect the residence hall to cost around $175 million, and another $25 million for the dining hall. ISU's Board of Trustees approved $8 million in design and design work in December.
After several dorm demolitions, things have gotten tight in what's left, including Watterson Towers. Many recent classes have set enrollment records, only slightly dropping back off this year. ISU's current on-campus housing capacity is around 6,700 students, with the remaining 14,800 students living off campus.
“We may not be able to completely eliminate the density issues in Watterson,” said Tarhule. “So we would hope that we can make some dent in that, but we may not be able to completely eliminate it as part of the measure to keep costs affordable.”
Tarhule said ISU's motivations for the new complex include students' desire for new facilities, the potential that current housing will need renovations that require residents to move elsewhere, and the lack of other housing options in Bloomington-Normal.
Dorm demolitions
Historically, Tarhule said ISU has housed as much as 1,600 more residents on campus at a time. But that was when there was more on-campus housing.
Hamilton-Whitten and Atkin-Colby were the South Campus residence halls from the 1960s until they closed in 2012 and were demolished. Renovations to keep up with new fire sprinkler codes were deemed too costly for the aging buildings, leading ISU to instead invest in renovating Cardinal Court. What used to be the footprint of the 1,500-student complex is now mostly grass.
“Cardinal Court was a bit of a replacement. We were able to gain back some bed space, but we are not near where we should be,” said Tarhule. “And so this is an effort to try to recoup some of the lost bed spaces that we gave up once we demolished those facilities.”
The Dunn-Barton and Walker residence halls were closed in 2008 and demolished, with the Student Fitness Center built in their place.
The complex ISU is now considering would be built at the same site as Hamilton-Whitten and Atkin-Colby.
“It would look really marvelous,” said Tarhule.
ISU only has two dining halls on campus — one at Watterson and one in the center of Tri Towers on ISU's west side.
“Those are not enough, and we see this especially at peak times where the lines are longer than should be. So a third dining facility on campus will be truly amazing,” said Tarhule.
ISU’s campus will already look different in just a few years. The $87 million construction project at the Wonsook Kim College of Fine Arts is ongoing. The $84 million science complex is expected to break ground in the spring.
“And then if we have the dining facility [and residence hall], my goodness, this is a completely new campus,” said Tarhule.
ISU also began exploring how the College of Engineering would expand at its Campus East site. ISU's Board of Trustees approved architectural and engineering services for a second, adjacent building there. A program study is underway and construction documents are anticipated to begin being drafted soon.
ISU has been working for years to bring a new dorm to South Campus. It hired a consultant in 217 for a housing study which was later updated. The university sought public-private development partners in 2019 for a new 1,200-student housing project before construction material costs made that version of the project too expensive.
The Board of Trustees would have the final say on whether a new dormitory can be built.
“But we often face a chicken-and-egg situation because when we make a ballpark estimate of what we think a project might cost, and then you actually bid it,” said Tarhule. “Sometimes that cost could be considerably in excess of what you estimated, and then you have to go back to the board and say, ‘Hey, I made a mistake,’ or so on.”
