By Heart of Illinois ABC
BLOOMINGTON – An agriculture complex, with an estimated cost of almost $29 million, is a step closer to reality at Heartland Community College in Normal with the hiring of an architectural firm to do the design work.
Heartland’s Board of Trustees Tuesday night signed off on a contract to pay Legat Architects 7.25% of construction costs, which staffers estimate could fall in a range of $1.5 million to $1.8 million.
Farming plays a dominant role in the economy of the community college district, which serves Bloomington-Normal, Lincoln, and Pontiac. In October, Heartland’s governing board voted to create a Career and Technical Education curriculum for agriculture, including a two-year associate’s degree program requiring 60 credit hours, plus four certificates and two micro-certificates requiring fewer credit hours in various agriculture fields.
In a report to trustees, Heartland staffers said the ag program currently shares lecture and laboratory classroom space with other departments.
“Agriculture courses tend to be more hands-on and sometimes require plant, animal, or soil material to be used alongside lectures, for which a standard lecture classroom is not ideal,” the report said.
This fall, trustees approved documents requesting funding from the state government. The estimated cost of a stand-alone ag complex is $28.8 million, according to Heartland staff.
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