University of Illinois trustees have approved a plan to build the first student union at the school's Springfield campus.
Trustees on Wednesday awarded a contract to a Peoria company that will be the general contractor on the $21.7 million project.
The planned two-story, 50,000 square-foot union is expected to be completed in January 2018. Construction is expected to start in May.
The University of Illinois-Springfield has raised more than $5.3 million in donations for the project and plans to raise another $1.7 million. Students approved a fee in 2012 to cover about half the project's cost.
