The Illinois Street Residential Hall Renovation and Addition Project began May 7 and is expected to continue until August 2020.

During construction, the north entrance on Green Street will not be available. Work hours during summer will be from 7 a.m. until 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday. During these periods, the constructive noise might be intrusive.

The ISR Dining Hall will not be available until the renovation is over. Nearby dining halls for students include Lincoln Avenue Dining Hall and Busey-Evans Dining Hall. Additional dining will be also offered on the first floor of Illini Union and second floor of Illini Union Ballroom.

Despite the temporary inconveniences of  the construction, Chelsea Hamilton, the Senior Assistant Director for Communication & Marketing of University Housing, is still looking forward to the potential benefits of renovations.

“ISR is a 53-year-old building that simply is in need of structural upgrades. Renovating the dining, programmatic, and living space in ISR will achieve three primary goals: enhance the residential experience, increase dining capacity, and improve building efficiency and sustainability,” Hamilton said in an email.

The renovation project includes two phases. Phase One, Dining and Programmatic Space, will continue from May 2018 until August 2020. Phase Two, Student Rooms, will begin May 2019 and continue until August 2020.

Phase One’s design emphasizes the outlook of the ISR building, installing large windows that provide a glimpse of inside activities. The first level dining space will increase seating from 750 to 1,385, and it is designed around nine micro-restaurants with wide-variety of food options.

On the lower-level, constructions include a promenade-style “Main Street” interior walkway with garage doors opening into engaging community spaces such as a tea bar, Innovations Living-Learning Committee garage, multi-purpose rooms, a fitness center, meditation room and a University Counseling Center satellite office.

Phase Two focuses on the renovations of student rooms. While new paints and floorings are added in the common areas, new room furniture, electrical upgrades, climate control installation, energy-efficient windows and individual-use bathrooms will be added to student rooms.

“We will do everything possible to minimize disruption during this project. Students are encouraged to keep an eye on the ISR renovation and addition project web page for construction information and follow Housing on social media for real-time updates using #ISR2020,” said Hamilton.

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