ACTIVE PROJECTS
WIU RIVERFRONT CAMPUS
PROJECT OVERVIEW - $80 Million Investment
The Western Illinois University (WIU) has conducted classes in the Quad Cities for more than 25 years. In 2002, the Illinois Quad City Chamber of Commerce with education and business support initiated a community-wide needs assessment of higher education. The assessment concluded that the Quad Cities needed to expand access to higher education to meet current education demands of up to 5,000 students and stimulate economic development.
Then in 2003, Deere and Company donated its former Technical Center, including the 20 highly valued adjacent acres on the Mississippi Riverfront on River Drive in Moline as the site for the WIU-QC Riverfront Campus.
The upper-division commuter site, presently located on John Deere Road in Moline, offers a first-rate, affordable education for transfer, graduate and international students, as well as adult students who are place bound by family and work responsibilities.
The new campus will focus on high-tech education and will specialize in technology-oriented, business, health care-related, environmental science, decision support systems, and education disciplines, in addition to offering an MBA program and other programs that meet identified needs. The university is also investigating establishing an engineering Polytechnic School, an interdisciplinary engineering offering.
WIU President Al Goldfarb made building a campus in Moline a top priority for the university. In March of 2007 he testified to members of an Illinois House Appropriations committee that a campus in the Quad Cities could have a $50 million annual economic impact on the local economy and provide John Deere and other businesses with training and education for the local workforce they need. He further stated the Quad Cities is the largest urban area in the country not served by a public university.
WIU-QC Riverfront Campus Homepage
PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION
The first phase will include the renovation of an existing two-story brick building comprised of 60,000 square feet. This building will house the College of Business and Technology. The balance of the campus will consist of some 110,000 square feet of newly constructed buildings spread among the 20 acres. The entire campus will be composed of modern steel and glass structures, as will adjacent development. Open squares and green lawns will give this commuter campus a walkabilty factor.
For A Detailed Look Visit:
WIU-QC Riverfront Campus Master Planning Page
The campus will achieve a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Green Building Rating System™ status and be designed to complement surrounding private development which is also planned to support the educational and high-tech environment.
The WIU-QC Riverfront Campus will be the critical component to the success of the Mississippi River Technology Corridor and become the cornerstone of the RiverTech district.
“The new campus will become a catalyst for attracting private investment in real estate, commerce, and research and development ultimately transitioning the Quad Cities into a science, technology and innovation economy.” – Jim Bowman, Renew Moline Executive Director.
SCHEDULES
Funding for Phase I of $17 million and Phase II of $42 million has been approved by the State of Illinois.
Phase III is expected to be funded and built over the next five years.
Classes are projected to begin as early as Fall 2011.
Western Illinois University – Quad Cities received approval from the Illinois State Board of Higher Education for their Engineering Program that will begin classes in the Fall of 2009. Classes will be located at the historic Caxton building in downtown Moline. This was made possible by a $500,000 contribution from both the John Deere Foundation and The Moline Foundation.
The program will be a plus-two degree completion program (junior and senior years) articulated with the pre-engineering transfer programs at the WIU-Macomb campus and community colleges in Illinois, Iowa and Missouri.
NEWS ARTICLES
Capital bill means big bucks for QC
$31 Billion could help QC projects
IL officials await construction money
WIU slated to receive $42.5 million for QC campus
Quinn: WIU riverfront campus will be part of budget
Quinn: QC should have full-fledged WIU Campus
Goldfarb: "We are going to keep fighting"
Groundwork Still Being Laid for WIU Moline Campus
Q-C breaks ground for WIU Riverfront Campus
Chamber celebrates WIU-Quad Cities Campus ground breaking
PLANS & DRAWINGS
Campus Site Plan
East Elevation
West Elevation
Phase I Floor Plan
Northwest Corner
Interior Rendering
Lecture Lab
RiverTech Masterplan
CAMPUS LINKS