Kishwaukee Community College is one step away from having a $10 million campus construction addition become a reality.

Friday, the college received approval from the Illinois Community College Board in Springfield to go ahead with its Phase IV project. The final hurdle is gaining approval by the Illinois Board of Higher Education at its March meeting.

“I have no reason to expect they won’t approve it,” said Dave Lois, Kishwaukee vice president.

The 102,000-square-foot addition will boost the campus’ total space to about 337,000 square feet, Louis said. It entails construction of two more wings to the existing four-wing complex, along with an expansion of an existing wing.

The Kishwaukee campus is located about 6 miles west of DeKalb of Highway 38 and Malta Road.

The new areas will include space for laboratories, classrooms, student lounges and a cafeteria. In addition, many services that are now housed in “temporary” buildings, which have been around since the college’s start in 1968, will move to the new areas, Louis said.

Final architectural plans are expected in May or June, and construction could start as early as July, Louis said. Completion is planned for July 1993.

On Nov. 6, voters in the college’s district approved a bond referendum to finance the $10 million project. Those bonds, which are already sold, will be financed by taxpayers over a 10-year period.

“We think this will set us up for some growth and expansion,” he said, adding after Phase IV, no major construction will be needed for 10 to 15 years.

Phase IV is the end to construction of the main Kishwaukee College building started in 1970 when the main “spine” of the structure was built.

After the Phase I “spine,” three wings were added in about 1972 for Phase II, with an additional wing added in 1986 for Phase III, Louis said.

About 4,200 students attend Kishwaukee College, with the full-time equivalent at 1,600 students. Louis said most come from DeKalb County, but Kishwaukee also serves students from six other counties.