The future of Gilbert Hall as a renewed residence hall is still in the planning stages.

“We haven’t made any decisions yet,” said Jeff Daurer, director of capital budget and planning.

Building specifics will depend on what the program needs, Daurer said.

“It’s not time yet to say how much [work will need to be done to make it livable],” he said. “Planning phases for buildings can last several years.”

The goal for Gilbert Hall, Daurer said, is to develop it to work for “what is best for our students, new and in the future so they can academically succeed.”

The presence of asbestos in Gilbert is also an issue of concern. Gilbert could contain asbestos due to the time period in which it was built, said Scott Mooberry, safety officer of NIU Environment Health and Safety.

“I don’t know for sure [whether asbestos is present in Gilbert],” Mooberry said. “A lot of our buildings on campus were built in the ‘50s and ‘60s, in which case asbestos was widely incorporated in the construction of buildings.”

Since the remodeling of Gilbert has not yet moved from the planning stages, asbestos has not been addressed in project planning. However, building issues are common during remodeling, particularly in dealing with environmental issues, Daurer said.

The asbestos can be dealt with depending on the specifics of the remodeling, Mooberry said.

“It depends on how much they want to remodel the building and what areas they want to remodel,” he said. “If there is asbestos in those areas, there are methods called abatement methods we would employ.”

The abatement methods stated by Mooberry include removal, enclosure, encapsulation and patch and repair.

Though the existence of asbestos in Gilbert Hall is still uncertain, it can be dealt with if present.

“If there is some [asbestos] impacted, we would have to make a decision as to how to deal with it,” Mooberry said. “That’s when those four different abatement options come into play.”