The Harper Board of Trustees on Wednesday night voted to spend another $6.6 million for the construction of a performing arts center and instructional conference center–even though it doesn’t have the funds.
The Palatine college currently does not have any funds earmarked to cover the additional expense but will consider various ways to make up for the shortfall, including fundraising efforts, said Linda Kolbusz, a college spokeswoman.
“This project has been 10 years in the making and there is a longstanding commitment to the instructional impact of these buildings,” Kolbusz said.
The college will receive about $7.1 million in state funds approved in 1998 for the two buildings. The college matched that amount, but current construction bids exceeded expectations by nearly 35 percent, said architect Charles Burnidge, president of Burnidge Cassell Associates.
Harper plans to build a 60,000-square-foot conference center off Roselle Road and a 30,000-square-foot performing arts center near Algonquin Road.
Despite the shortfall, college officials still expect to begin construction this spring, with completion slated for spring 2002.
This year the liberal arts division saw an increase of 688 students, or 7.4 percent. That enrollment rise is fueling the need for more instructional space, said Harley Chapman, dean of liberal arts.
“With the anticipated growth in enrollment . . . the liberal arts division will be in serious need of additional classroom space in a very short time,” Chapman said.
