BLOOMINGTON, Ill. – Illinois State University has agreed to spend $17.5 million purchasing the old General Electric Road building in Bloomington from insurance company Country Financial.
25 News reports ISU plans to make this the home of their new College of Engineering. The goal is to have students taking a class there in 2025, with a full move-in planned for 2026. The original plan was to renovate two buildings on campus.
“The amount of renovation that we have to do here is relatively minor, so it helps us with the timeliness, it helps us with opportunity, and the cost is also significantly less,” said ISU President Aondover Tarhule.
ISU will borrow money for the purchase. As students come in to pay tuition, they will pay off the loan.
Tarhule said opening the new engineering school was always part of the university’s plan, even before they bought the building. The property includes another building that won’t be part of the engineering school itself, but it will hold ISU staff beginning in 2027.
Country Financial is selling the building because they have more hybrid workers post-pandemic. Three years ago, they decided to move a lot of their workers to their Towanda Avenue campus.
“We really believe that there’s a lot of power in bringing our employees together. Because we work differently now, and we’re committed to a hybrid schedule, it makes it even more important for us to have those meaningful moments together. So, having them all on one campus will help to facilitate that,” said Carl Bridges, a senior vice president for Country Financial.
An escrow agreement with purchase stipulates Country Financial will maintain ownership of the building until Dec. 31, 2026 due to the fact insurance employees from IT and customer service still work in the building.
The transaction is expected to close Nov. 15.
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