Houses coming down for Naperville science center

Demolition to make way for North Central College's future science center began Thursday in Naperville.

Crews started with the southernmost of five houses owned by the college that will need to be razed at the southwest corner of Van Buren Avenue and Loomis Street, where a $60 million, 125,000-square-foot science center is expected to be complete by summer 2017.

Along with the houses, which had been used as faculty offices, the Student Village dorm building on Loomis just north of Chicago Avenue also will be torn down. College officials say demolition is expected to be complete by July 31.

Jeff Bjorklund, a North Central chemistry professor who stopped by to watch the first house come down Thursday morning, said the future building will "modernize science facilities" and provide more meeting space for students.

The science center will include a large lecture hall, 18 teaching labs, 16 research labs, 15 classrooms, 19 student gathering spaces, 53 offices, a greenhouse and a convenience shop. It will replace Kroehler Science Center, which opened in 1965.