$7.5 million sustainability project breaks ground

EAST PEORIA — Illinois Central College has symbolically broken ground on a new community facility for promoting green practices through education and practical applications in homes and businesses.

According to an official press release, the new Sustainability Center will be an academic building that will function as the new home for “programs concerning sustainability, as well as architecture, construction, and HVAC/R programs.”

At the groundbreaking ceremony on Sept. 30, John Erwin, president of ICC, spoke on the general goals and purpose of the center.

“To put it simply, we hope to prepare a place where ICC can provide a quality educational experience for our students in sustainability,” Erwin said. “We also want to be a valuable resource in the community.”

The Sustainability Center will also be a long-term community center where area businesses and individuals can learn about the practical applications for green solutions. “Ten years from now, I would like to come and visit the Sustainability Center and find it relevant for the time,” Erwin said.

The $7.5 million project has its financial roots in state funding originally promised for Dirksen Hall.

“$2.63 million was originally earmarked for Dirksen Hall, one of our temporary buildings from the 1960’s,” said Bruce Budde, executive vice president of administration and finance. “We asked the state if we could use that money for the new building, and they approved the project.”

Another $2.1 million is coming from federal Qualified Energy Conservation Bonds that were accepted through the Tazewell County Government, and the final balance will come from reserves in the college budget.

Another contribution came with Charles and Carol Blye’s donation of 10 acres of land next to the college’s Illinois Route 24 entrance specifically to provide land for the Center.

“It really comes down to finding the resources, the funding and the timing to make it right,” Budde said. “All those pieces came together.”

The final design for the center has not yet been approved, but with the help of students and community input, ICC hopes to have a final design by the spring of 2015. At the groundbreaking ceremony, several ICC architecture students, including Rebecca Palmer, displayed model suggestions.

“I think it’s important that the students who are going to be using the building will be part of the process of designing it,” Palmer said.