While recent budget constraints on the university have pushed back plans to renovate the Grant Towers residence halls, other smaller projects are planned to help supplement a major renovation.

Grant has been on the university’s renovation wish list for many years.

“Every year, we discuss what we can do with the Grant residence halls,” said Bob Albanese, director of finance and facilities.

Albanese said university officials will be meeting soon to decide whether or not major renovations in Grant will take place in the near future.

Although no major renovations will take place anytime soon, small renovations have been made to vital infrastructure points.

Recently, the university made improvements to the west heating plant, which is a small step that will make the renovation process easier.

NIU will also be adding a state-of-the-art tutoring center in Grant by next fall. Specifications of the project are not known at the moment, but the project will cost the university approximately $200,000 to $300,000.

The tutoring center is not part of the major renovation plans and will be placed in an unused space.

“We renovated the Stevenson Towers six to seven years ago and it was our original intent to finish the Stevenson project and then complete the Grant renovation project,” Albanese said.

The university spent approximately $22 million on the renovation of Stevenson Towers.

In addition to budget constraints, a curveball was thrown to the university’s plans to renovate Grant Towers in the form of a bill that was passed last year in Illinois. House bill 4361 requires colleges and universities to install fire sprinklers in all dormitories by 2013 unless they are exempt.

“The mandate by the State of Illinois to have sprinklers has made the university take a step back on the renovation process,” Albanese said.

In order for the university to commit to the Grant renovation, the university needs to figure out how much the sprinkler mandate will cost them, he said.

Another means to make renovation easier could be in the form of companies who build private residence halls.

“It’s what many institutions have done,” said Michael Coakley, executive director of Student Housing and Dining Services.

In order for this to happen, NIU would have to find a private partner to fund the construction of residence hall facilities. The private developer would build the residence hall but have the university take care of day-to-day operations. However, the private developer would still own the facility.

In most cases, developers give the property back to the university when it gets the most out of its return on their investment, Coakley said.

“It’s an option for us to consider if we look for new housing in the future,” he said.

Although there are no plans for this to take place in the near future, some think it is the best option.

“It’s the only financially feasible way to upgrade university housing on campus,” said Keith Kruchten, president of the Residence Hall Association.