Long-Term Development Projects Underway at Harper College

Harper College is currently undergoing a series of construction projects as part of an approved Master Plan designed to improve and modernize the campus.

After a $153.6 million capital referendum was passed by voters in 2008, Harper College appointed a team of developers to create a Master Plan to address the needs of the college through 2020.

Construction is currently underway in the North Campus roadway and parking lot. The project, which began in late April, is almost complete. The Euclid Avenue entrance and affected parking lots are scheduled to reopen Monday, July 23.

“We are making the flow of traffic safer,” said Harper College spokesperson Erin Brooks. “We are also making the parking lots more environmentally friendly.”

As part of the college’s green initiative, developers added vegetative swales in the renovated parking lots. These landscaped medians within a parking lot contain native plants and grasses that help prevent pollutants from contaminating nearby ponds.

“When it rains, water picks up contaminants like battery acid and oil,” said Brooks. “The native plants slow the movement of this water and act as natural filters.”

The college is also recycling concrete from the old parking lot, sidewalks and light pole foundations and using it to repave the lot. “We’re converting debris into a usable material,” said Brooks. “A concrete crusher turns the old lot into the new aggregate. It’s a great way to reduce pollution and prevent more material from ending up in a landfill.”

Brooks added that the parking lot renovations are also designed with safety in mind. “There are as many vehicles entering and exiting from our Euclid entrance as there are at the Algonquin Road entrance on the south side of campus,” Brooks stated in an email. “The roadway renovation will improve traffic flow and make navigating the area safer.”

Harper College is also in the process of renovating the Engineering and Technology Center (Building H). This building houses programs career programs such as welding, fire science, interior design and law enforcement.

“Many of those programs have seen enrollment soar as adults head back to school to train for new jobs amid a continued down economy, and these programs train students for great 21^st century careers,” she said in an email.

The plan includes renovations for about 82,000 square feet of space including classroom renovations, lab updates and improvements in the building’s overall infrastructure. The building renovations are expected to be completed in fall 2012.

Additionally, renovations are scheduled for the Mathematics and General Studies Center (Building D), which was built in 1969 and is one of the campus’s earliest buildings. “The project will provide a scenic gateway to the north end of campus,” said Brooks. The project will allow for flexible classroom space, office and laboratories.

Future projects include creating a one-stop admissions office and a new campus student center. Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED), an internationally recognized green building certification program, has deemed all Harper building renovations LEED Silver at a minimum.

“The Campus Master Plan will meet our needs well into the 21^st century,” said Brooks. “We are focused on the effectiveness, usability and environmental responsibility of the campus. We want to provide for students and help them meet their goals, and these changes can help them accomplish that.”