NIU’s Stevens Building will have a last chance to receive renovation funding from the state this year after failing to be included in approved budget measures this spring.

The Illinois Board of Higher Education has not ranked it high enough on their university-wide project ranking to receive a funding recommendation from the state budget, said Ken Zehnder, assistant director of External Affairs.

The building, which houses the School of Theater and Dance and the anthropology department, has been on the IBHE’s priority list for several years.

The project will receive another chance for funding at a veto session Nov. 8 through 10 and Nov. 16 through 18. The session will allow legislators to appropriate funds to those projects not recently funded.

“The IBHE executive director and staff have toured the facility twice and received updates on the critical nature of the NIU renovation proposal,” Zehnder said.

The project, which was initially expected to have started by now, has been put off due to lack of funding from the state.

The General Assembly did not pass any appropriation for the project in the spring and it is not known if they will pass any in the fall, said Sharon Ward, associate director of Planning and Budgeting for IBHE.

Remodeling the building would cost $16.9 million for the entire process. The request includes $1.5 million in planning money with the rest going toward construction.

Gov. Rod Blagojevich’s staff has been notified of the urgency of this project, Zehnder said. Capital funding will be reviewed during the veto session in November and decisions will be made regarding which projects will receive funding.

Proposed improvements include a new heating, ventilation and air-conditioning system, electrical distribution systems, new energy-efficient windows and a new roof. The project also will include reconfiguration of offices and labs, upgrades of academic space and an addition to the theater department’s scenery-making shop.

The upgrades would extend the life of the building by 25 to 30 years, Zehnder said.

The remodeling process will have a design phase of six to nine months and a construction phase of about 18 months. Classes would be rescheduled to temporary locations during the construction.