Work is underway on transformative North Central College Science Center

Construction work has begun for a new Science Center that will right-size campus facilities and transform the academic experience for students.

The 125,000-square-foot Science Center is being built on the west side of the 100 block of South Loomis Street, along the Sesquicentennial Walkway and south of Van Buren Avenue. The new facility was designed with additional classroom space to serve students of all academic disciplines.

The College is working with Pepper Construction, the project’s general contractor, to provide regular updates that are published on the College’s website at northcentralcollege.edu/ScienceConstruction. As with any construction project, the timetable is subject to modification.

Six structures that will be removed to make way for the Science Center have been vacated. Trees have been removed from the site, utilities that served the structures are being disconnected and other site prep work is taking place. Removal of structures is set to begin July 13 and end by July 31.

Prior to removal, neighbors and others in the campus community will have the opportunity to salvage items on July 7 and 8. Those items may include doors, knobs, hinges and other interior items, as well as exterior plants and shrubs around the structures. People interested in salvaging items need to check in with College representatives at 330 E. Van Buren Ave., at the southwest corner of Loomis Street and Van Buren Avenue. The structures will be open between 7 a.m. and 3 p.m. on Tuesday, July 7, and Wednesday, July 8.

The closure of Van Buren Avenue between Loomis Street and the College’s Sesquicentennial Walkway is planned to take place the week of July 6 and continue through the duration of the two-year construction project. Erosion-control fencing and safety signage also will be installed the week of July 6.

The College is working with the City of Naperville to make the structures available for public safety training exercises between July 9 and 11, when city police and fire personnel will be present.

Later this summer, work will begin to upgrade and install the necessary water lines to service the Science Center and neighbors along Loomis Street, which will affect access to that stretch of Loomis. This will increase the capacity of the water main along Loomis Street between Chicago and Benton avenues.

Following demolition and site preparation this summer, excavation and foundation work will occur in the fall. Structural steel will be installed between December 2015 and March 2016. Masonry and enclosure work will take place from April to August 2016, with interior buildout taking place from fall 2016 through spring 2017. Exterior site restoration and occupancy will occur in summer 2017.

The new facility will be home to biochemistry, biology, chemistry, computer science, mathematics, neuroscience, physics and psychology and will include dedicated space for the exercise science and pre-health programs. The new Science Center will feature 18 teaching labs, 16 research labs, 15 classrooms/seminar rooms, a large lecture hall, 19 different student gathering spaces, 53 faculty/staff offices, a greenhouse, a Grab N’ Go and more.

The Science Center is the essential cornerstone of a $150 million Brilliant Future Campaign that will also grow the College’s endowment to support student scholarships, excellence in teaching by world-class faculty and create additional academic opportunities for students. A video showing the design of the Science Center may be viewed here.