Historic structure makes way for the future at SIU Carbondale

CARBONDALE, Ill. (KBSI) –  Some would say it’s the end of an era at SIU Carbondale, where an old World War II building has come down to make room for a new rebuild for infrastructure purposes.

According to Carol LePere Supervising Engineer and Architect at SIU Carbondale, the Quonset hut was well past being able to be used but was a great piece of history for the campus built in the 1950’s. The facility location is between the Deckers Hall and Public Policy building next to a wooded area. The new building making space for equipment needs.

 “We started the demolition on an older structure. We call it the Quonset hut. It’s part of some military facilities that was brought on campus years ago after the war and to supplement a high percentage of students that was coming on at that time” says LePere.

LePere shares the new building will be called the chiller plant and is going to house three separate chillers eventually. Which will then work with other units on campus and provide, greatly needed, improved equipment that’s providing the heating and cooling used on several buildings.

LePere shares this project has been in discussion for several years and is funded through the State of Illinois. The project started on Tuesday July 6, 2026, and LePere shares they hope to send out project bids in a year. She shares why the project was a crucial need for the campus.

“The summer times when it gets really hot, we get people that are very uncomfortable” says LePere. “We can’t keep up with the demand the several the buildings are calling for. So people get very uncomfortable and if the units go down, we sometimes have had to shut some buildings down because it’s not comfortable for the occupants to be working in there. So, yeah, it’s just, very, important to get this taken care of so that people are comfortable.”