It’s been two years since Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker came to Macomb for the groundbreaking ceremony for a performing arts center on the campus of Western Illinois University.
“It’s been a fast two years. There’s been an awful lot happen in those two years,” said Billy Clow, Dean of the College of Fine Arts and Communication.
The 100,000-square-foot Goldfarb Center for Performing Arts dominates the southwest part of the campus.
Clow said construction crews have been working hard and he enjoys watching the progress unfold. But although a lot has happened in the past two years, supply chain issues have slowed down the project a bit.
“We cannot get what we need when we need it,” he said.
As a result, construction likely won’t be completed quite as soon as hoped.
“We were looking toward the end of ’25. We’re probably into the first part of ’26 at this point,” he said.
But Clow said the building won’t really be completed until there is an audience in it.
“It can be as shiny and pretty as you want, but until the lights go down the first time with some kind of an audience, no matter what it is, that’s when the building is complete,” Clow said.
“That’s when it starts to have its own soul, and where it becomes a part of the community and our region.”
He continues to be amazed by the work that goes into keeping the project organized and safe, and despite the delays, he remains excited.
“It’s not every day the state gives us money for construction projects, and this money is dedicated for just that – it’s just for construction,” Clow said.
“I’m very excited that the state believed in the project. It’s been out there long before I started at Western, long before a lot of us did. And now we’re finally going to get to the fruition and see this thing through.”
Funding for the $119 million project is coming from Rebuild Illinois and the Illinois Capital Development Board.
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