The Holmes Student Center reconstruction will be completed by Dec. 11 as contractors finish installing outside panels and prepare to install the pyramid-shaped copper roof.

NIU Project Manager Conrad Miller said panel installation on the student center is complete except for the southeast corner and “penthouse,” which will be done by Nov. 15.

Miller said installation of the nearly 2,000 panels has proceeded faster than expected, due partly to good weather. “We thought we would be putting up 22 panels per day when we started, but we were able to put up 32 panels some days,” Miller said.

Contractors are adding the finishing touches to the $2.4 million project. New windows are being installed on the northside of the building, and have been finished up to the third vertical row. After the north side is completed next week, window replacement will begin on the south side of the tower.

The next step in the project is the installation of the roof beams in preparation for the copper roof. Miller said copper was chosen because of its appearance and durability. Architects expect the roof to turn an even green, or “patina” in 40 to 50 years, a process which will be left to the elements, Miller said.

Although some of the building’s limestone panels appear stained, Miller said the marks are caused by moisture in the freshly-quarried stone, which will disappear as the stone dries. Because the 400-pound panels were polished to a hard finish, they will not gather soot and pollution the way other buildings, such as Founders Memorial Library, have.

Miller said maintaining the current rate of progress depends largely on the weather. “Our worst enemy up there is not snow, or rain, or sleet. It’s wind. When it really starts blowing, no human being will go up on that steel, and I can’t blame them.”