The Joliet Junior College board of trustees recently voted 5-2 to move forward on the City Center campus project despite a request from the interim president and incoming president to delay a vote.
The board voted to finalize its contract with the Dominica Kemper Architects after some debate at its regular meeting on Feb. 7. Some members noted that the board already voted in 2011 on basic elements of the building’s structure, including its square footage and stories, and that the Feb. 7 vote still gives the incoming president Debra Daniels ample time to make significant decisions about the building’s interior.
But Trustee Michael O’Connell, who voted against finalizing the contract with board President Barbara DeLaney, said the board should delay a vote until after the new president arrives on March 1. (Daniels is the president of San Bernardino Valley College in California.) Also, he noted that the state of Illinois’ financial situation potentially jeopardizes $24 million in money anticipated from the state for the $50 million City Center project.
“We really need to hold off a few months on this,” O’Connell said.
DeLaney read letters during the meeting from both the interim JJC President Frank Zeller, who was not at the meeting, and school lobbyist Bill Maher urging the board to postpone a vote. The letters highlighted the financial problems of the state and the uncertainty of the money slated for the project.
Trustee Jeff May said that starting construction sooner ensures that the school can take advantage of low construction costs. He said that delays could come later in the project, but that a building shell is better than the hole that currently exists at Chicago and Webster streets.
Trustee Robert J. Wunderlich said that the project needs to start and added that the school is in robust financial health and has the option of issuing bonds to cover some costs if needed.
Trustee Susan Marie Klen said she viewed the Feb. 7 vote as another formality in a project that has already been approved by the board. However, she expressed concern that it might set the wrong tone with the new president.
The City Center Campus project was spearheaded by past JJC President Gene Proulx, who died last year of cancer. The project is expected to bring hundreds of JJC students to downtown Joliet and expand the school’s hospitality program, which boasts an award-winning culinary arts program.
The project calls for constructing a six-story building connected to the school’s existing building at the Renaissance Center on Ottawa Street. The new building would sit on the site of the former White Store, which dated back to the 1880s and originally was a clothing factory, then a popular spot to buy blue jeans in the 1960s and most recently a warehouse for a local furniture store.
The board must vote on one more item, relating to construction timeliness and other plans, before crews start construction on the building. A vote is expected as early as the March meeting.
