The $100 million Illini Hall Replacement and Altgeld Hall Renovation Project at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC) campus will soon start construction, according to Governor JB Pritzker’s announcement.
The project will be funded through the bipartisan Rebuild Illinois Capital program. The Illinois Innovation Network (IIN) of the University of Illinois System will also provide $40 million for the project while $52 million will come from institutional contributions.
The Illini Hall Replacement and Altgeld Hall Renovation Project at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC) campus calls for the total restoration of Altgeld Hall. Moreover, the razing of Illini Hall, and the development of a brand-new, 140,000-square-foot structure took its place.
The scope of work also involves establishing a new data science center as a component of the Champaign-Urbana hub of the Illinois Innovation Network. It is run by the University of Illinois System.
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Both buildings will receive new classrooms, lecture halls, and collaborative spaces.
Expectations for the Illini Hall Replacement and Altgeld Hall Renovation Project at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC) campus
The project will be supervised by the Illinois Capital Development Board (CDB). It will be in accordance with the procedures for state-appropriated building projects. Prior to starting the interior renovations, Altgeld Hall will undergo major repairs to the stone veneer and bell tower. These will continue to serve as historic campus icons.
New accessibility elements will be added to Altgeld Hall, and the building’s original murals will be fully restored. The building will get new classrooms, tutoring areas, and research spaces for the Illinois Risk Lab and the Illinois Geometry Lab.
With asbestos abatement already in progress, CDB has prepared the building site for the destruction of Illini Hall, which will take place at the end of January. Illini Hall will get a brand-new 4,614-square-foot auditorium along with nearly a dozen new classrooms. The Department of Mathematics and Statistics will be housed in a section of the new structure.
The new Illini Hall will be built to achieve LEED Platinum Certification, the highest rating offered by the U.S. Green Building Council, through its design and construction. The multi-phase Illini Hall Replacement and Altgeld Hall Renovation Project at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC) campus, which will be finished in 2026, includes its initial phase marked by the demolition of Illini Hall.