On December 7, the Notice of Award for the new ECE building has been given to Williams Brothers Construction of Peoria Heights, Ill. This means that Williams Brothers will be the contractor for the project, once the final documents are signed off

Their final bid amount was just over $71 million. This will be for the building structure itself. Other funds from the building campaign are needed for equipment, furnishings, and other items that must be in place when the building sees its first classes in session in fall 2014.

Williams Brothers has worked on several buildings on the University of Illinois campus in recent years, including the Institute for Genomic Biology, the Alice Campbell Alumni Center, and the Illini Union Bookstore. Currently, Williams Brothers is involved in the renovation of Lincoln Hall and in the construction of Ikenberry Commons.

Now that the Notice of Award has been posted, the contractor has 10 working days to submit documentation of insurance, bonds, and other paperwork. Once that has been submitted, an authorization to proceed is issued. At this point actual construction can begin.

Construction of the facility is expected to begin later this month or early in January 2012. It will be ready for classes by the beginning of the fall 2014 semester.

Though construction will soon be under way, our fundraising continues. Private funding is still needed to reach our fundraising goal for this building project. To “do your bit,” please visit the Building Campaign for ECE ILLINOIS site.

Interested in making a pledge over five years or want more information? Contact Beth Katsinas, Director of Advancement, at katsinas@illinois.edu or (217) 265-6285.