Taft Hall renovation work to begin May 12

Dear students, faculty and staff,

The renovation of Taft Hall is a whole-building renovation project that will include all 27,000 square feet of the building. When renovations are complete, the building will have new formal and informal learning spaces, the addition of an elevator, and new mechanical, electrical, plumbing, fire protection, AV and networking infrastructure. It will also feature a new rooftop solar photovoltaic array to offset electricity consumption. The university expects the project to achieve LEED Gold certification.

On May 12, contractors will begin mobilizing at the building to prepare for the start of the renovations. This work will include the following:

• Removal of furniture and other items to be salvaged
• Construction fence installation
• Tree care and pruning around the building
• Arrival of storage containers and dumpsters

During the week of May 19, demolition work will begin. Crews will be removing the exterior concrete facade panels and conducting a bulk demolition of the entire interior of the building. This work is expected to run through mid-July.

Exterior site work will also begin that week and will include concrete removal and site excavation for new utility services to the building.

Work will continue for the next 14 months, and there will be a considerable amount of construction activity.

Construction vehicles will be accessing the site from both Halsted and Morgan streets, and vehicular activity will be coordinated to avoid interfering with class change periods. At these times, flaggers will always be present. Pedestrian traffic will also be rerouted during the construction period. To ensure safety, please use caution when in the vicinity.

The project will run through July 2026, and the building is expected to reopen for the start of the fall 2026 semester.

Thank you for your patience and cooperation during the construction period.

John Coronado
Vice Chancellor for Administrative Services

For more information, please contact:
Sherry Krsticevic
sherylk@uic.edu