As construction continues on multiunit apartment complexes on campus, an unfinished building can still be a home.

Partially completed apartment buildings can be approved for tenant occupancy while construction is ongoing in Champaign and in Urbana. However, in both cities, it requires inspection on a case-by-case basis.

In Champaign, a builder must obtain a document called a conditional certificate of occupancy before anyone can live in a building that is under construction, said Garry Bowman, Champaign’s building safety supervisor.

To be eligible for this certificate, Bowman said five elements must be inspected and approved: heating, plumbing, electricity, fire suppression and the building overall.

“Essentially, we require all safety aspects to be functioning,” Bowman said.

Smoke alarms, sprinkler systems and exit signs are among the features required to be in place.

Urbana’s inspection of partially finished apartment complexes also focuses on safety, said Gordon Skinner, Urbana’s building safety division manager.

“It’s a long list,” Skinner said. “Basically, the building has to be finished and the rooms have to be occupiable. But if they finish certain rooms, we would allow it as long as all the safety features are there.”

Both cities also evaluate how much tenants will be affected by the construction going on around them.

“Depending on how it’s being constructed, they can isolate a wing of the building off from what’s occupied,” Bowman said. “So contractors and residents do not mix together.”

Bowman said the separation of construction workers and tenants came under consideration when evaluating the apartment complex at 309 E. Green St. for a conditional certificate of occupancy. Two floors of parking spots are being used to organize and store construction equipment and another floor serves as a buffer zone between the construction and residents’ apartments.

Jake Higginson, senior in AHS, said even with the buffer zone between construction and his ninth floor apartment, the work is noisy and sometimes a nuisance.

“The construction is annoying,” Higginson said. “And we’re in a temporary room right now so it would be nice to get into our real apartment.”

Floors nine through 14 were given a conditional certificate of occupancy in early September, while floors 15 and 16 were approved about a week later, Bowman said. Higginson signed a lease for an apartment on the 19th floor, which is not approved for occupancy.

Another new residential building, Presby Hall, was approved for complete occupancy because the work still going on there is separate from the living spaces, said Amanda Childress, director of operations for the McKinley Foundation. The residence hall was finished Aug. 21 and workers are now focusing on building a fitness center and connecting the residences to the McKinley Foundation’s building.

Partial occupancy has been granted in Urbana in the past, Skinner said, but it does not occur too often because builders have a financial incentive to finish on time and allow residents to move in.

The pressure to allow tenants into a building also pushes builders in Champaign to move quickly from a certificate of conditional occupancy to final approval, Bowman said.

All permits in Champaign expire six months after the issue date.

“They’re pushing and pushing, trying to get done because they want to get kids in there so they can make money,” Bowman said.