The NIU Art Annex is negotiating another five-year lease renewal on Sycamore Road.

The Art Annex is under a short-term, six-month lease as a transition to resolve the five-year extended agreement from the original lease, said Eddie Williams, vice president of Finances and Planning and director of Budget and Planning.

Williams said there is a possibility of buying the property, if NIU agrees.

Associate Legal Counsel Norden Gilbert said the contract, which began in February, 1985, will expire on September 15, 1990.

Gilbert said the rental costs $8,427.25 per month and building tax is around $7,000 per year. The Art Annex is located at 2211 Sycamore Rd.

Williams said he will decide whether to renew the five-year contract, which must meet Board of Regents approval by Aug. 15.

The Art Annex includes facilities for “about 30 art studios for faculty members, art graduate students, and graduate assistants, in a first-come, first-served basis,” said Gilbert.

He said the annex also stores collection sets given from the Lyric Opera of Chicago to NIU Theater Department.

Theater Arts Professor Alexender Adducci said, NIU owns the Art Annex and it is a part of NIU’s art museum serving the needs of the studio program and home property theater use.

The annex is associated with the school of arts and has studios for theater arts, art museum and space for the collection (Southeastern painting collection), Adducci said.