City of Belleville to dispose of furnishings from old Lindenwood University dorm
The city of Belleville is preparing to sell, grant or otherwise dispose of hundreds of pieces of furniture and other items from Lynx Lodge, a former dorm for Lindenwood University students.
That includes headboards for twin beds, chairs, desks, chests, filing cabinets, shelving, tables, bookcases, mattresses and box springs.
Lindenwood removed the items from the dorm and stored them in two buildings on its main campus before selling the complex and property to the city, which established the new Southwestern Illinois Justice and Workforce Development Campus.
Officials want to get rid of the unwanted surplus items to free up space in the two buildings, known as the Red Shed and East Bleachers, according to campus coordinator Dean Hardt.
“At this point, my first inclination is to try to find someone that can receive (all of the furnishings) and use them for a community organization or philanthropic purpose,” he said.
The brick complex at 2300 W. Main St. originally housed Belleville Township High School and later Belleville West. Missouri-based Lindenwood University operated a satellite campus from 2003 to 2020 and converted a hotel attached to the old Fischer’s Restaurant into Lynx Lodge.
The city bought the campus in 2021 for $3 million.
Today, Southwestern Illinois College manages the Southwestern Illinois Justice and Workforce Development Campus.
Tenants include the Illinois State Police Forensic Training Institute, Southwestern Illinois Law Enforcement Commission, SWIC Police Academy, Jets Basketball Club and Metro East Criminal Justice Experiential Learning Program of Southern Illinois University Law School.
The city also uses the campus to house three of its departments: Health, Housing and Building; Economic Development, Planning and Zoning; and Engineering.
“The police academy is wanting to use the Red Shed for their programs, and the maintenance department needs some additional space (in East Bleachers) for their equipment,” Hardt said.
Belleville City Council voted at its Monday night meeting to dispose of the surplus dorm furnishings. People interested in getting more information should call Hardt at 618-355-8614.
