The Illinois Central College courtyard serves as the main hub of the college campus, providing a central gathering and social space for students and staff. Located in East Peoria, Illinois the 1.6-acre courtyard was designed in the 1970s and was an unused concrete desert with a sunken courtyard providing many ADA challenges for its users. Beginning as a master plan study, TERRA Landscape Architecture engaged with multiple user groups, facilities, and the college leadership team to develop a design scheme to activate the courtyard, improve the uncomfortable microclimate, and reduce the amount of paving. Serving as a funding tool the master plan study provided a framework for the selected design. Courtyard amenities include improved circulation minimizing the use of ramps, a deck to support existing campus dining, study areas, semi-private seating, and increased shade with the addition of trees and tensile canopies. Planting maintenance was considered with low-maintenance ornamental grasses, shrubs, and trees with a focus on four-season planting.