Welcoming the UI Foundation to the Research Park Neighborhood

We are happy to welcome the University of Illinois Foundation to the Research Park neighborhood! After thirty years in Harker Hall, the UI Foundation moved into its newly built home at 303 St. Mary’s Road on February 19, 2024.

The space has been designed with flexibility and growth in mind. “If people aren’t going to be here every day of the week, they might not need as much space,” Foundation president Jim Moore explained. “So we’ve been able to be more efficient with the design of the space and add in, perhaps, more spaces designed for collaboration and engagement and teamwork than we would’ve been able to in the previous world, where most people would’ve expected to be in a private office.”

The building site is on the south side of the University of Illinois Urbana‑Champaign campus, where the old feed mill used to stand at the corner of Fourth Street and St. Mary’s Road. It sits next door to the I Hotel and Conference Center and across the street from State Farm Center and other Illini athletics facilities.

The Foundation’s workforce has grown from 14 employees in 1974 to more than 170 employees today.  In addition to employee workspaces, the building includes facilities for hosting alumni and friends, including a third-floor space with a terrace with an excellent view of campus.

The Foundation aims for a grand celebration of the building in Summer 2024.

More information about the project can be found in photos and videos on the University of Illinois Foundation website. A more thorough article detailing the building’s completion can be found in the News-Gazette.