A conceptual rendering shows the proposed NIU Center for Greek Life. (Farnsworth Group illustration)

A portion of a onetime retail strip in DeKalb’s North Annie Glidden neighborhood may be on the verge of a makeover.

A property now owned by the city of DeKalb may be purchased by Northern Illinois University with plans to construct an NIU Center for Greek Life.

Catherine Squires, NIU Foundation president and CEO, told the DeKalb City Council last month of plans for the site, located on Blackhawk Road near West Hillcrest Drive north of the NIU campus.

The proposed center could cost as much as $7 million and have as much as 12,000-square feet of space. It would be within walking distance of many fraternity and sorority houses and include meeting, study and event spaces, offices for university staff serving students, an outdoor courtyard and off-street parking.

The university plans to make construction of the center a marquee project in an upcoming fundraising campaign.

An architectural rendering was displayed at a recent event held on Greek Row, and DeKalb Mayor Cohen Barnes said students and alumni were excited to see the plans.

“It’s great to see all these conversations. We really are starting to move forward on this,” said Barnes. “In raising the money and then constructing a building like this, I think is going to be transformational for Greek life at Northern Illinois University, but I think it’s (also) going to be transformational for that entire area.”

The center will utilize a portion of a larger, 4.9-acre, L-shaped property, leaving space for additional redevelopment projects.

“The University is looking to revitalize Greek Life at NIU with a project that will enhance the neighborhood’s vitality, bolster student recruitment and retention and spur new investment and activity in the area,” according to NIU’s proposal summary.

“The Northern Illinois University Center for Greek Life and complementary development around it will begin to create the environment and quality of life the neighbor’s desire.”

The property was once a vibrant area with stores, a popular bar and four-screen movie theaters. The cinema was demolished in 2020 and the rest — the decaying Hillcrest Shopping Center — was torn down in 2022.

The demolitions are just part of an extensive investment by the city to prime the neighborhood for redevelopment. The work included incentivizing a change in ownership for several large apartment complexes, demolition of a vacant apartment building and road improvements.

Since this investment, several large projects have been announced in the neighborhood.

Along with the Center for Greek Life, DeKalb County Community Gardens plans to build a CHEF Center on Annie Glidden Road, and the DeKalb School District is constructing the Dr. Leroy A. Mitchell Elementary School at Normal and Ridge Road.

The council supported moving forward with the sale of the property for the Center for Greek Life, which will come back for a formal vote at a later meeting.