- Developer/Project Proponent: Western Illinois University – Quad Cities
- Project Address: 3300 River Drive
- Renew Moline Role: Project feasibility; concept development/financing and design review
- Completion Date: 2012 and 2014
- Economic Incentives: Land donation, and financial assistance from a variety of sources
- Project/website link: Western Illinois University Quad Cities – WIU
Western Illinois University has had a presence in the Quad Cities for more than 100 years. In 2002, the Illinois Quad Cities Chamber of Commerce, with support from the education and business sectors, 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 the education demands of up to 5,000 students while stimulating economic development.
In 2003, Deere & Company donated its former Technical Center and the 20 adjacent acres of highly valued Mississippi Riverfront as the site for the WIU-QC Riverfront Campus. Phase I of this project was completed in January 2012 with the renovation and reuse of the former Deere Tech Center into a 2-story, 60,000 square foot, LEED-certified classroom and administrative building.
Western Illinois University-Quad Cities continued to grow its presence and list of educational opportunities they provide with the completion of Phase II in 2014. The $38 million, five interconnected buildings doubled the size of available facilities at WIU-Quad Cities.
The campus addition houses academic programs and services from the colleges of Arts and Sciences, Education and Human Services, and Fine Arts and Communication, and includes the library, WQPT-Quad Cities public television and classes offered through the Quad Cities Graduate Study Center.
