COD wants tax money for campus makeover

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A combination of growth and space inefficiencies has pushed College of DuPage to ask voters to approve what officials call a $168 million property tax extension to help renovate and declutter some of the campus' older buildings.

If approved Nov. 2, the college's current taxing powers would be extended another 20-plus years at the current levels. If it is defeated, college officials said the owner of a $300,000 house would see an annual savings on their property tax bill of about $35.

The aging Student Resource Center, physical education building and McAninch Arts Center would be some of the buildings in line for makeovers. Most were built in the mid-1980s.

John Wandolowski, the college's director of facilities, said administrators have identified $414.7 million worth of projects to improve the campus, but money generated from the tax extension would be used where it had the “biggest impact to students.

But critics contend the college's ballot question is more costly than advertised.

“We're talking a quarter of a billion dollars when you include interest, said Jim Tobin, president of National Taxpayers United of Illinois. “I know people in DuPage County don't like paying interest to Chicago banks or even worse, New York banks.

College officials did not provide cost estimates with interest included.

Tobin said this is the costliest tax request he's heard of in 34 years of fighting tax initiatives. He also admitted his group has never supported a tax measure because members “haven't found one worth supporting.

COD officials contend this is the perfect time to do the projects because interest rates are low, the college is clearing much of its current debt and construction costs are lower because of the lag in the economy.

The college is currently in the midst of a building boom with two structures completed last year, two new ones under construction and an existing building being rehabbed almost from scratch.

Some of the Student Resource Center is already being renovated. Wandolowski said an estimated $33.4 million is needed to finish the job, which would reconfigure the library and academic settings within the building to streamline movement and provide much needed storage space for college materials.

Hallways of the building are currently lined with excess equipment and employees are being housed in places that weren't envisioned as work spaces.

“All the stuff that's in the hallways isn't extra stuff, said COD spokeswoman Robyn Johnson. “It's stuff we have a use for.

Wandolowski said the biggest effort is retrofitting learning spaces to meet demands of modern technology. It's cheaper to do things all together than piecemeal, he said. Huge chunks of space within some of the older buildings are devoted to uses that are outdated.

For example, the 83,000-square-foot physical education building has a dozen racquetball courts that take up about a quarter of the footprint of the building. However, the courts are rarely used for their original purpose and in some cases they've been converted to storage areas or for other athletic purposes.

College officials estimate renovations to the physical education building will cost about $18.9 million. Wandolowski said the physical education building is one of the facilities on campus most often used by non-students.

The roofs of both the physical education building and the arts center are failing and it gets more expensive each time to patch the repairs, Wandolowski said. He estimated the college spends about $500 to $1,000 a month on roof repairs around the campus.

Officials want to use an estimated $23 million for renovations to the arts center. Classrooms and performance venues would be updated.

Stephen Cummins, director of the center, said throughout its 25 years of existence, the audience seats for the main stage “have had over a million butts in them.

Classroom space needs to be updated as well to keep up technological advancements. Cummins points to the outdated photography labs as an example of wasted space that needs overhaul. He said the key to future renovations would include the ability to grow with future technologies.

The renovations to existing facilities along with $53.3 million in campus infrastructure improvements are the main priority of the tax extension, officials said. Beyond that, the second phase of the college's Homeland Security Education Center estimated at $25 million and the first phase of a parking deck/conference center adjacent to the Berg Instructional Center estimated at $15 million are also priorities. The college lists all the projects at codiscovercod.com.

COD wish list

Here is a rundown of the estimated $415 million worth of campus improvement projects College of DuPage officials have identified.

Priorities

Student Resource Center: $33.4 million

Physical education building: $18.9 million

McAninch Arts Center: $22.9 million

Infrastructure: $53.3 million

Seaton Computing Center: $3.7 million

Homeland Security Education Center (Phase 2): $25 million

Parking deck/conference center (Phase 1): $15 million

Others

Site improvements: $5.2 million

Naperville Regional Center addition: $7.4 million

Campus Maintenance Center: $8.4 million

Homeland Security Education Center (completion): $175 million

Parking deck/conference center (completion): $46.5 million

Source: College of DuPage

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