Kishwaukee Hall to be demolished
By ELENA GRIMM –
egrimm@daily-chronicle.com
DeKALB – A date has not been set to demolish Kishwaukee Hall and a nearby radio tower because of pending contracts.
The board of trustees for Northern Illinois University approved the project last week, and already, about 15-20 staff have relocated to prepare for the demolition of the 70-year-old building, said Jeff Daurer, director of capital budget and planning.
Kishwaukee Hall has had several uses since 1940, including a coffee shop, student union, and offices for the student newspaper and university radio stations.
Most recently, the building has held fiber arts classrooms, which will be moved back to the art building.
The one-story brick building is on a remote edge of campus, south of College Avenue and east of where the East Lagoon meets the Kishwaukee River.
Daurer said he’s thrilled the area will be returned to green space.
For now, the land will lay dormant, but school officials hope to do extensive landscaping and gardening “in better economic times,” he said.
The cost of renovating the 5,800-square-foot building would exceed what the property is worth, and thus the hall has “passed its usefulness,” according to a document from the June 25 board of trustees meeting.
For now, planners are focusing on moving radio operations to Holmes Student Center. “It’s important we get that right,” Daurer said.
“It’s important that we test and retest and make sure everything is moving properly.”
The move “should be flawless,” he said, adding that listeners should not be affected.
