Chancellor Richard Herman will request approval from the Board of Trustees Sept. 9 to begin construction for a new conference center.

The proposed building would be at the intersection of First Street and St. Mary’s Road. The University started planning for this development in February 2005.

The need for a conference center on campus is an idea that has been around for the past ten years, said University spokesperson Robin Kaler.

“There was nowhere (on campus) to accommodate what we needed,” Kaler said.

Although the proposed conference center is being built in Research Park, it is not under Research Park authority and would be a University-owned building.

A hotel and restaurant will also be built in the area. Although the project is separate from the conference center, if the center is built, all three buildings would be connected. The project is being handled by Fox/Atkins Development LLC and would be under Research Park jurisdiction.

The plans for the conference center call for a building between 36,000 to 37,000 square-feet, able to hold 500-600 people. The projected cost of the conference center is $11 million. The University hopes to begin construction next spring and complete the center in the summer of 2007, Kaler said.

“Basically we’re one of very few major universities without a conference center related to the campus,” Kaler said. “The one we’re building is actually modest in size. We can add on to it in the future.”

The need for the conference center is driven by three factors: to further the education mission of the University, to benefit the local community and to act as a venue for the Department of Intercollegiate Athletics, said Charles Zukoski, vice chancellor of research at the University.

“(University) faculty and staff need to gather with their colleagues and right now, they have to travel to do that,” Zukoski said.

Organizations in the community, such as a civil engineering group, used to meet on campus. Yet, since their society has grown to about 500 members, they had to move their meetings to Peoria. A conference center on campus would bring those meetings back to Champaign, Zukoski said.

“It is going to be a tremendous asset to the campus,” Zukoski said. “I’m seeing this conference center, hotel and restaurant change the face of the south campus.”

The Research Park Board of Managers, the formal authority for projects in Research Park, has already approved the hotel and restaurant for construction. The construction date is pending until the Board approves or disapproves the proposed conference center.

Although construction is being handled by different companies, plans for the three buildings are contingent on the other. If for some reason the hotel and restaurant are not built, the conference center will also not be built, Zukoski said.

The budget for the 124-room hotel and restaurant is $15 million. The hotel would include two VIP suites and an upscale design.

“We have many visitors to Research Park,” said Andrea Ruedi, a consultant for Fox Development Corporation. “This provides them with a convenient place to stay.”

Ruedi also listed visiting professors, campus visitors and those attending sporting events as potential hotel guests.

The hotel will be the first in the Champaign-Urbana area with four-diamond-status, based on the AAA rating system which goes up to five diamonds, Ruedi said. To earn such a rating, attention has to be paid to every detail of the hotel.

“It means having more upscale appointments,” Ruedi said. “Also, it needs to have a full-service restaurant attached.”

The restaurant will feature a main dining room with a 250-person capacity. It will also have a private dining room, patio dining, a take-out area and a coffee and beverage bar. The fare will be moderately-priced American cuisine.

“We’re looking at fresh foods, something that appeals to everyone,” Ruedi said. “People will feel comfortable coming in two or three times a week.”

Ruedi also mentioned that University students would be able to work at the hotel and restaurant.

“We’d especially like to see students from the hospitality program,” Ruedi said.

Both the restaurant and hotel are still unnamed.

“The hotel will not be a franchise hotel,” Ruedi said. “At this point, the U of I will be the brand of the hotel.”

Zukoski, who is also a faculty member on campus, was very excited about the entire project.

“I’m very positive about this project,” he said. “I think it will do good things for us. We have a lot to show off. We can be proud of our campus in ways we haven’t been able to.”