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NEIU facilities director shows dilapidated Bryn Mawr holdings; trustees ask for tear-down cost and risk assessment
Summary
Facilities leadership presented photos and a campus real-estate overview highlighting severely damaged Bryn Mawr properties and break-ins at El Centro sites; trustees requested a risk assessment and cost estimate for demolition and mitigation for the next committee meeting.
Northeastern Illinois University’s new executive director for facilities management, Josh Sumner, presented a campus real‑estate overview on Feb. 13 that included photos of multiple off‑campus properties, notably the Bryn Mawr block, which administrators said show extensive water damage, biological growth and roof failures.
Sumner told trustees the Bryn Mawr holdings were acquired under eminent domain in 2016, that several buildings are vacant, and that some remaining tenants (a 7‑Eleven and an auto clinic) plus a small art collective generated modest revenue. The presentation included multiple interior photographs showing standing water, collapsed ceilings and biologic growth in formerly occupied spaces.
Lisa Downey, vice president for advancement and executive director of the NEIU Foundation, identified the art collective that had occupied one Bryn Mawr storefront as Spaces for Possibility, a program supported by the Rivada Foundation. Downey said the group moved from 3412 Bryn Mawr into the former TCF bank space after flooding and water damage.
Trustees pressed for next steps. Trustee Mercedes asked whether buildings should be demolished for safety. VP Ortiz said the JLL analysis done roughly three years ago recommended mixed‑use redevelopment, but rising interest rates and market shifts made that plan less viable. The administration committed to update the older analysis as part of a campus strategic and master‑planning process.
Because trustees voiced concern about immediate safety risks, Trustee Mercedez asked for a narrower, near‑term deliverable: an estimate of the cost to fully tear down the Bryn Mawr structures and an assessment of current security and hazard mitigation costs. VP Ortiz agreed to provide that information at the next Finance, Buildings & Grounds meeting, scheduled in roughly one month.
Sumner’s presentation also covered other university properties including El Centro (noted architectural building with LEED Silver certification and planned nursing simulation lab), the Carruthers Center for Inner City Studies (used for classes and community events), and the Ginsburg Markham Prairie (a 105‑acre preserve donated to NEIU), underscoring the range of facilities the university manages.
