Western Illinois University has broken ground on the Macomb campus’ $110 million Center for Performing Arts. It is the first state-funded building on the Macomb campus since the 1970s.  

The 100,000-square-foot building will combine the College of Fine Arts and Communication spaces into a centralized location. The center will include The Great Hall, a 900-seat Proscenium Theatre, a smaller Black Box theatre, classrooms, offices, practice rooms, studios, and performance spaces. It will serve as an education and performance space for music, theater and dance programs, and will host regional and national touring performances. 

It will be built to achieve a LEED Silver certification from the United States Green Building Council. 

The center has been in planning since December 1972 and has topped the university’s capital development list since 2006. 

IMEG provided surveying and will provide mechanical, electrical, and plumbing commissioning services for the project. Architectural design is by Pelli Clarke Pelli with Cannon Design, Inc., serving as architect of record. River City Construction is the general contractor. 

The project is funded by the Rebuild Illinois capital plan. It is slated to open in the fall of 2024.