Southern Hills

Drove into SIUCs now abandoned Southern Hills residential complex. A gate blocks vehicles from driving past the first parking area but it is easy to see that SIUC is letting the entire area, save for one building, go back to nature. It looks as if one building is being used for maintenance offices but the other building are getting covered with vines and parts of the structure are falling off. Seems quite a waste of the buildings, which thirty years ago were used for graduate student and family housing.

When SIUC started shrinking dramatically, there was talk, 20 years ago,  of converting the buildings into a upscale retirement community for SIUC alumni but adapting the buildings for retirees, especially the 2nd floor units, was too costly to pursue, I guess. Nothing ever came of the plan and the rehabilitation of the buildings would be too expensive now.