During the next six years, Ohio University plans to spend $166.3 million on major renovations for five aging buildings on campus.
Many of OU’s buildings were constructed in the 1960s, and the outdated mechanics and infrastructure are starting to take their toll on students and faculty members.
The university plans to fund the six-year capital improvement plan, which includes maintenance and renovation projects, by using a combination of debt and state funding. University officials are also soliciting donations for the cost of some of the projects. The plan is scheduled for fiscal years 2013 through 2018.
“Now there’s light at the end of the tunnel,” said Harry Wyatt, associate vice president for Facilities, in January. “It’s taken the tool of university debt in order to get the plan in gear, but everyone at this point sees that as a necessary tool.”
Buildings that will be getting a facelift as part of the capital plan include Old Baker University Center, which will become the Schoonover Center for Communication; McCracken Hall; Seigfred Hall; Alden Library; and Clippinger Laboratories.
McCracken, constructed in 1959, might be expanded, and the renovations also will include infrastructure and technology updates. The renovation is expected to cost $26.3 million, and the Patton College of Education, housed in McCracken, has $7.9 million in donations, according to the capital plan.
Students and faculty members who take classes and work in McCracken deal with leaks, condensation, poor temperature control and limitations on technology. McCracken’s renovation is scheduled for fiscal years 2015 and 2016, but plans are not finalized.
“The building was built on a factory-style model of education,” Patton College Dean Renée Middleton said. “It’s the 21st century now, and the building is not constructed to be amenable to learning communities and how students learn today.”
The renovated building will include more common areas for students to gather for group discussion, and planners are considering adding an auditorium, Middleton said.
Alden Library, built in 1968, is also in need of rehabilitation. The library’s heating and cooling system has long been insufficient for handling the capacity the library now sees, and some students complain that not enough space is open 24 hours, said Scott Seaman, dean of the Ohio University Libraries.
“We know that the design is no longer adequate for the way the building is being used and the amount of usage it gets,” Seaman said.
Seaman also cited the changing study habits of students as a reason to redesign parts of the library. Once a renovation is complete, the library will likely have more group workspaces, 24-hour space on the fourth floor and additional bathrooms.
“In the last five years, the number of entrances to Alden have more than doubled,” Seaman said. “The consequence of that is there is a hunt for a bathroom or a hunt for an electrical outlet to plug a computer in. We hear complaints about that all the time, and we would address those.”
The Alden renovation is expected to cost $33.4 million and is scheduled for fiscal years 2017 and 2018, according to the capital plan.
Seaman said he hopes donations and money from OU’s ongoing capital fundraising campaign might help fund the renovation.
Although OU plans to construct a new research and laboratory building, it will also renovate Clippinger Laboratories to update infrastructure and provide additional classroom space. In fiscal years 2017 and 2018, the university plans to spend $42.8 million on the Clippinger renovation.
“The (new building) would be about half the size, and it will allow us to relocate the most intensive research out of Clippinger,” Wyatt said. “This is a way of … addressing progressive research and teaching needs by building a new building with research-intensive functions.”
The capital plan does not specify a start date for construction of the new building, but design should start in 2015, Wyatt said. The building would take about a year to design and 18 months to build.
The Schoonover Center for Communication, which will house the Scripps College of Communication, is scheduled for completion in two phases. Phase 1 will begin in 2013 and cost $16.6 million, and Phase 2 is scheduled to start in 2014 and cost $17.4 million.
OU has $7.9 million in donations so far and plans to fund the rest using the university’s $160 million debt financing plan. Old Baker Center will be completely redesigned and updated to accommodate the Scripps College’s five schools.
OU is planning to renovate the aging mechanical systems of Seigfred Hall in fiscal years 2015 and 2016. The university is also considering an addition. The project is expected to cost $29.8 million.
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