Harper outlines building wish list

Harper College officials say the prospect of housing 21st-century programs in 1960s-era buildings is increasingly impractical.

A new 10-year campus master plan has been drafted that outlines more than $300 million in facilities upgrades, some to keep infrastructure from crumbling and others to provide the institution with state-of-the-art facilities.

"We're at the point where some facilities are reaching their life expectancy," Harper President Robert Breuder said. "Forty-four percent of buildings date back more than 30 years."

The plan is divided into three categories:

Renovation of facilities older than 30 years: $133.1 million.

This includes three big projects: a $24.8 million renovation of G and H buildings to improve labs and classrooms; $36 million in improvements and construction to the Wellness and Sports Center; $10.2 million in renovations to the Harper Professional Center.

Repairs, infrastructure upgrades and maintenance: $121.2 million.

Priorities include repairing leaky utility tunnels, upgrading underground utilities and bringing heating, cooling and electrical infrastructure up to code.

"I've poked around a little in the tunnels and the water is dripping on you," said Northwest Community Hospital President and CEO Bruce Crowther, who sits on a community outreach team for the facilities plan. "In terms of infrastructure, it's bad."

Construction of new Campus Life and Public Safety Education centers: $77 million.

Harper considers the two new facilities crucial to meeting community needs and driving economic development.

The Campus Life Center would consolidate student services like admissions, financial aid and academic counseling that are now scattered across campus. Breuder says the centralized facility is especially important to serve a student population expected to grow about 12 percent by 2014.

The Public Safety Education Center would accommodate a program officials say could be an enormous growth area for Harper. The college is in talks with Northern Illinois University to offer a bachelor's degree in public safety, and Breuder says specialized labs and classrooms are needed to meet more stringent law enforcement and fire personnel training.

The three initiatives total $330 million, but Harper officials say the figure could drop to $240 million if - and that's a big if - the state provides $90 million in requested funding.

Two of Harper's proposals, the G and H building improvements and new Campus Life Center, already have more than $50 million in pending state grants. The projects are near the top of a statewide priority list of capital requests by community colleges and 4-year universities.

"If the state were to appropriate $250 million to higher education and politics didn't come into play, both projects would be funded," said Breuder.

But he added the state hasn't passed a capital spending bill since George Ryan was governor. Harper pays lobbying firm Advanced Practical Solutions $60,000 a year to try and free up the money.

"Springfield says it supports higher education and gives it lip service, but they don't have the capacity to deliver," said Breuder. "Until they decide to put serious money on the table, it's just going to sit there in limbo."

Harper's needs will continue to escalate in the meantime, Breuder said, and alternative revenue sources must be pursued. But the state doesn't look promising, the school's $40 million reserves fund won't cut it and officials don't want Harper's tuition to overshoot its competitors.

That leaves the taxpayers.

"A referendum is probably the most viable option going forward," said Breuder. "The board will have to decide what's the best way to generate dollars."

That's the route the college took in 2000, when voters approved its $88.8 million tax increase proposal to fund the Avante, Performing Arts and Wojcik Conference centers.

What to build and how to pay for it depends in part on the recommendation of a 12-person community outreach team.

The school earlier this month launched PATH, or Providing Advice for Tomorrow's Harper, an effort to get public input on and support for the 10-year campus master plan. Efforts include hosting a series of open houses, campus tours, community presentations, mailings and a Web site with a breakdown of the facilities audit's findings.

"The primary intent is to put everything out in front of the public so they can weigh in and offer perspective," Breuder said. "We never want to be told we didn't have our ears out there."

Spearheading the team - made up of Northwest suburban business, civic and political leaders - are Northwest Community's Crowther and Cornerstone National Bank & Trust Chairman and CEO Tom MacCarthy.

Taking into account feedback collected through PATH and an earlier community survey, as well as Harper's campus master plan, the team is to present its recommendation on how to proceed to the board in August.

They group isn't looking to dispute or confirm the architects' and engineers' findings, Crowther said, but to interpret independently what residents say about Harper's needs.

"Some would say this is just a rubber stamp," he said. "Maybe (Breuder) just did want an independent group to give the plan credibility, but this will be an honest assessment."

Other PATH team members are: Fran Bolson, Woodfield Chicago Northwest Convention Bureau president; Rob Brumbaugh, Omnibus Advertising and Marketing owner; Clark Delanois, Northern Trust Bank senior vice president and managing director; Richard Kolze, Harper trustee emeritus; Arlene Mulder, Arlington Heights mayor; Chris Prochno, Elk Grove Village trustee; Kevin Richardson, Heartland Solutions Group; Jerry Smoller of Kovitz, Shifrin & Nesbit; and Harper Trustee Bill Kelley.

Harper's next open house, in which the public can get information and comment on the facilities plan, takes place from 5 to 8 p.m. July 9 in the campus Student Center.