Illinois State University nearly done razing residence halls

NORMAL, Ill. (AP) - The demolition of Illinois State University's more than 50-year-old residential hall complex should be done within weeks to make room for a nursing school building.

ISU's planning director, David Gill, says demolition of the H-shaped residence hall complex is expected to be finished during the first week of July.

The housing complex consisted of two sets of linked residence halls flanked by a dining center. The dining center and the Whitten-Hamilton residence hall have already been razed, but demolition of the Atkin-Colby residence hall is underway.

The (Bloomington) Pantagraph reports (http://bit.ly/1Y1btPS ) school officials decided to raze the buildings due to the high cost of retrofitting them with sprinklers to comply with state law.

No timetable has been set for construction of the new nursing building, which would need state funding.

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Information from: The Pantagraph, http://www.pantagraph.com