The College of Lake County is a comprehensive community college offering a wide range of academic programs and serving a district northeast of Chicago. Mortenson recently completed the College’s Sustainable Master Plan that transformed the student commons and social hub for the campus. The renovation of the A & B wings included a new roof, technology cabling, classroom modernizations, and common area upgrades. Specific project features are a new cafeteria addition, renovations to the main lobby & atrium, re-purposed space for a new bookstore and student activities, and the replacement of existing HVAC systems with new Geothermal.

Given that this was an active campus, the team took a phased approach to construction, minimizing the disruption to students and staff. Particularly disruptive work was carefully scheduled around pre-planned academic calendar shutdowns and sophisticated wayfinding signage and temporary student corridors were developed to allow the steady flow of faculty and students.

Prior to construction, Mortenson laser scanned the building to gain a precise understanding of the existing utilities which prevented any loss of power to the College due to construction. Many sustainable features, including occupancy sensors and geothermal wells, are helping this project achieve LEED Silver certification.