The draft of a master plan for McHenry County College's eventual expansion includes a traditional college quad, several new buildings and two parking garages.
Representatives of Darien-based Wight & Co. presented the draft plan Thursday morning at a meeting of the college's facilities and planning committee. The company, hired by the college last August, will give a full presentation — including projected costs — at a special board meeting at 5 p.m. Thursday, April 26.
Several renderings of the plan were presented at the public meeting, but college officials declined to make those available to the Daily Herald, stating the architects want to refine a few things before next week's presentation.
In the plan, which assumes the college will acquire additional land, the main entry on Lucas Road is marked by an archway acting as a "welcoming portal" into the campus, senior project manager Leanne Meyer-Smith said.
Elgin Community College also recently built such a structure.
The layout includes new buildings for fine arts, including a theater, science and health, technology and manufacturing, and more.
"Every building will have some classrooms. Education needs to be in every single building," Meyer-Smith said.
MCC currently has 271,000 square feet of space, not including hallways, stairwells and the like. Based on future enrollment projections and curriculum-based needs, it will require 384,000 square feet in 10 years and 571,000 in 20 years, Meyer-Smith said.
Those numbers take into account an increase in online instruction and off-campus courses, she added.
The plan includes two 900-car parking garages built over two different phases; some of the current parking areas could be turned into green space, Meyer-Smith said.
Trustee Dennis Adams pointed out the board had so far viewed parking garages as cost-prohibitive.
MCC President Vicky Smith, however, said the college could look into entering into a private partnership with a firm that would build and run the garages.
As for the future look of the MCC, Wight & Co. envisions it as similar to that of Lewis University in Romeoville, incorporating brick, stone and glass. The plan takes into account the use of renewable energy whenever possible, Meyer-Smith said.
"LED and solar panel lighting is very achievable these days," she said. "The cost is coming down."
Voters might be asked to finance the expansion through referendum but other funding options include a capital campaign, contributions from donors, and public and private partnerships to limit the burden on taxpayers, Smith said.
A 2006 graduate of Tallmadge High School, Nolte said his theatrical experiences began in middle school with Dynamics Community Theater.
He recalls being in the ensemble for a production of "Cinderella" just months after working backstage on "The Secret Garden." It was about that time Nolte discovered his preference for behind-the-scenes work.
"I found my interest in the lighting console in the back of the auditorium, and I used to hang out back there," he said. "It takes a different kind of confidence to be on stage, and I just felt safer behind the scenes."
He has worked "non-stop" on a wide variety of productions at a plethora of venues since then.
He's been involved with shows at the Weathervane Playhouse in Akron, PlayhouseSquare in Cleveland and at the Williamstown Theatre Festival in Massachusetts, just to name a few.
After high school, Nolte attended the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music where he graduated with a degree in theater design and production in 2011.
"That's when it hit me that I wanted to explore some other options," he said.
During college, Nolte began studying stage management -- a step up in responsibility from lighting design.
"On a show-by-show basis, stage managers are the ones who make the show go off without a hitch," he said. "Everything runs off your go. Probably the most responsibility is held on the stage manager's shoulders."
While working as a production assistant under Stage Manager J. Philip Bassett -- Nolte's mentor -- for the 2011 production of "Fat Camp" at Playhouse Square, Nolte decided he had what it took to be a stage manager himself.
"It's sort of scary when you don't know all the people," said Nolte, "but he introduced me to professionals and made me realize I could do that, too."
Bassett encouraged his protege to send out his resume to Broadway theaters and make connections with stage managers.
That was barely a year ago -- a time when Nolte believed Broadway was "too far away and intangible."
It was also before he received a call from Broadway Stage Manager Michael Passaro.
With suitcase in hand and gumption in his heart, Nolte hopped on a bus for New York, where he's lived since last August.
Three months later, Nolte was called by Passaro, who was working on a revival of "How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying."
After a meeting with Passaro at Al Hirschfeld Theatre where Nolte spent time backstage during a performance of the show, the two resolved to stay in touch.
Passaro became the stage manager for the latest revival of "Evita," and when the time came to interview for production assistants, Nolte got the call.
"I was just following all the right steps and everything people told me," he said. "But it was still pretty surreal to get that call."
A tiny vacant lot that's been abandoned for more than a decade is now at the literal center of a turf war between a small neighborhood market and Broward's taxi czar.
On the other side is a small office building owned by Broward taxi mogul Jesse Gaddis, one of the county's most influential businessmen and frequent political campaign contributor.
Gaddis, also an accomplished real estate investor, wants the lot to establish more parking for his vacant office building at the northeast corner of Southwest 12th Avenue and Sixth Street. The building is up for sale.
Market owner Julian Segal has been maintaining the unpaved parcel ever since he opened his market six years ago. He uses it as the parking lot for his establishment.
Losing the use of the lot would mean Segal may have to close his joint because he won't be able to fulfill the permitted parking requirements that come with serving food and alcohol, he said.
All seemed lost for Segal on March 6 when he learned commissioners unanimously approved Gaddis' bid of $15,500 for the land. Segal, who bid $12,500, says he was never alerted about the hearing. He wanted to object to the sale, alleging the bidding process was flawed.
But now an apparent typo found in a legal notice and questions about how the city handled the bids has put the sale on hold, and the lot could possibly be back up for grabs.
"This is not just our baby we are fighting for," Segal said from his market last week. "It's a fight for something that has become a gem and asset in this neighborhood."
Resident leaders say the market — refurbished from what used to be a run-down convenience store — is a significant hidden treasure for the up-and-coming neighborhood located just west of downtown and better known for its previous problems with crime and blight.
"The store that used to be there was a horrible place," said Mark Hill, president of the neighborhood's residents association. "Now the place is always crowded with people, even with people who are not even from here. The street it's on has become prosperous."
The market is whimsically decorated with hand-painted signs and art work, colorful lounge chairs and comfy sofas. The walls are lined with wine and beer bottles, surfboards, unique lighting fixtures, eye-catching antiques and old photographs of Fort Lauderdale.
A breakfast, lunch and dinner spot for neighborhood residents as well as the downtown business crowd, it has earned the praise of local food critics.
It's widely considered a den for Fort Lauderdale cops, a meeting place for civic groups and, with more than 500 different types of bottled brews for sale, a beer aficionado's paradise.
Gaddis and his real estate representative, Patricia Hays, could not be reached for comment. Hays, who is handling Gaddis' bid for the lot, told city officials the vacant office building is being considered as a future home for the family's charitable foundation.
The Chicago Bulls are in the postseason. They're the first team to lock up a playoff berth and reach 40 victories.
Their success is no surprise after they led the NBA with 62 regular-season victories last season and had both the MVP in Derrick Rose and coach of the year in Tom Thibodeau.
But this season they've maneuvered through a series of injuries and still found a way to post the NBA's best mark with 16 games left in the regular season.
Rose missed his sixth straight game Saturday night with a groin injury and has been unable to go 16 times this season with an assortment of injuries, including earlier ones to a sprained left toe and sore back.
The Bulls are 12-4 without their best player, thanks to a deep bench — a must in this lockout-shortened schedule with so many games bunched together.
"It's definitely hard but, at the same time I'm happy they are playing great. We're winning games," Rose said. "Of course I want to be out there. I hate being injured, but right now we're in a good groove."
Richard Hamilton, acquired to give the Bulls a shooting guard to complement Rose's aggressive drives to the basket, has played in only 16 games because of a variety of injuries, the latest to his shoulder.
And Luol Deng, who made the game-winning basket at the buzzer in overtime Saturday night to give Chicago a 102-101 win over Toronto, has been playing with a torn ligament in his left wrist and missed nine games earlier this season.
Rose's backup, C.J. Watson, has also had a series of injuries causing him to be out for 17 games.
The bench has bailed out the Bulls numerous times.
Watson has played well with Rose out and another backup point guard, John Lucas III, has provided a spark with his quickness and shooting.
The Bulls also have an effective inside scorer, rebounder and defender off the bench in Taj Gibson, who could start for many NBA teams, a 3-point shooting threat in Kyle Korver and an improved backup at center in Omer Asik.
Should Hamilton return to the lineup, versatile Ronnie Brewer could return to a reserve role. The ability to go from starter to reserve and vice versa has been a key.
"I think having the right attitude and approach is the first step and the most important step," Thibodeau said of his bench's effectiveness.
"Everybody stays ready. We feel very good about our bench. When somebody has faced a new challenge, they've responded well."
Watson and Brewer have been starters at times during their careers, even before arriving in Chicago.
China's largest vehicle manufacturer, Shanghai Automotive Industry Company (SAIC), will arrive in Australia later this year when it launches a range of new people movers and cargo vans.
SAIC's Maxus V80 vans will go on sale in the final quarter of 2012, with the initial line-up set to comprise four passenger models and three cargo variants.
The four people movers include two 11-seaters – a short wheelbase version (4950mm total vehicle length) and a luxury-spec long-wheelbase (5700mm) – and two 15-seaters – standard roof and high roof versions, both on the long-wheelbase.
The vans include standard- and long-wheelbase models with the standard roof height, and a long-wheelbase/high roof model with a payload of 1.8 tonnes.
SAIC vehicles will be distributed in Australia by the Sydney-based WMC Group, following the first local appearance of the Maxus range last week at the Melbourne Truck, Trailer and Equipment show.
WMC Group managing director Jason Pecotic said the Maxus V80 would be a "real challenger in the upper end" of the market, with its sights set on the segments' Korean, Japanese and European competitors.
"The Maxus range will go head to head with some established brands, but will offer more creature comforts as standard and a strong European feel," Pecotic said.
"Maxus will offer us enormous opportunities in Australia, broadening the appeal of our range particularly in speaking to fleets, whether on the cargo and work van side or as a passenger-carrying mini bus."
At this stage, WMC's agreement with SAIC applies only to Maxus vans, with no deal to import smaller cars, SUVs and other vehicles at this stage.
SAIC owns traditional British sports car brand MG as well as the rights to Rover passenger car designs, which it has rebranded as 'Roewe' in China and parts of Europe. SAIC also has joint ventures with General Motors and Volkswagen in China.
All models in the Maxus V80 van range are powered by a 100kW/330Nm 2.5-litre diesel engine by VM Motori, which is available in either five-speed manual or automatic transmission.
Standard features include alloy wheels, reverse parking sensors, dual sliding side doors, rear barn doors on cargo models and electric entry step for passenger models, LED daytime running lights and dual zone air conditioning. High-grade models feature a reversing camera and tyre pressure monitoring system.
WMC says the vans meet European safety standards, and all are fitted with four-wheel disc brakes with ABS, EBD and BA, and dual front airbags, although electronic stability control will not be available.
Detailed pricing and specification information will be revealed closer to the vans' launch at the end of this year.