BUILDING BLOCKS: Powerhouse at Beloit College

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COST: $38 million

LOCATION: The former Blackhawk Generating Station, 850 Pleasant St., Beloit

SIZE: 120,000 square feet

START OF CONSTRUCTION: Spring 2018

COMPLETION: January 2020

ARCHITECTS: Studio Gang, Chicago

GENERAL CONTRACTOR: Corporate Contractors, Beloit

OWNER: Beloit College

SIGNIFICANCE OF PROJECT: The Powerhouse project has turned a building used for the former Blackhawk Generating Station into a student center for Beloit College. The project combines a student union, recreation center and athletic center.

It has a 10,000-square-foot fitness center, a 17,000-square-foot gymnasium with a three-lane track and an eight-lane pool, and spaces for collaboration and study. Other features include a coffee shop, student lounges, club rooms, conference center, and a lecture hall and theater. The project stands along the Rock River and will be connected to Beloit College’s campus by a bridge spanning U.S. Highway 51.

In 2018, the World Architecture Festival awarded the Powerhouse its top award for so-called Future Buildings, recognizing the project’s for the way its reuse of an abandoned generating station.