Summertime, especially after commencement, is the best time for a college such as Lake Land College for opportunities to make improvements before the upcoming fall semester when most of the students return in addition to incoming students and guests.
The purpose of having renovations during the summer is to create as little disruptions on campus as possible considering not many students are taking summer courses along with guests visiting the campus. However, there are unforeseen events that occur such as the weather which may prevent renovations from being done in a time manner prior to the fall semester.
The main renovation for the summer on campus was Parking Lot A. The parking lot is adjacent to the Fieldhouse, Northeast Building and Neal Hall. The other renovations that were going on simultaneously was inside the Fieldhouse alongside the replacement of carpeting in the Northwest Building.
According to Kimberly Wellbaum, the current Facilities Coordinator and a 22-year veteran on campus mentioned, “Parking Lot A along with merging Classroom 103 into the concession stand at the Fieldhouse on campus were the only projects for the summer.”
In regard to converting the classroom into the concession stand at the Fieldhouse, Wellbaum explained, “We put a small roll-up window in the wall to serve the concessions out on the gym floor. They added a few tables. We added a few computer stations and furniture for athletes to use. We started the demo a week after graduation and completed the project mid-July.”
For Parking Lot A, she clarified, “Most of the storm drains that were bad were dug up and replaced, the old asphalt was replaced with the new asphalt, the stop sign was changed was changed from a three-way to a four-way with a new curb. The demo was started the Monday following graduation and finished the day before the start of the fall semester.”
Regarding other projects, she added, “The Effingham Technology Center will be next. There has not been a demo yet regarding the upcoming project. Hopefully, it will be started sometime in September to have classes starting there in the Fall 2025 semester.”
