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Board of Trustees approves $22 million for CMU med school

By on September 18, 2009 6:45 am in Featured, University / 4 comments

 
Board of Trustees approves $22 million for CMU med school
Board of Trustees Chairwoman Gail Torreano, left, listens to interim University President Kathy Wilbur during Wilbur’s opening remarks during her president’s report on Thursday morning in the Bovee University Center during the Board of Trustees meeting. (Nate Kostegian/Staff Photographer)
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A $22 million approval Thursday marks the medical school’s largest financial advance and Central Michigan University’s largest commitment to the project to date.

The Board of Trustees approved the $22 million for the construction of a 62,000-square-foot addition to the Health Professions Building to house CMU’s School of Medicine.

Add that to the already $2 million trustees set aside for engineering and architectural design, and the project has a budget of $24 million.

“That’s actually on the low side,” said Cam Enarson, interim dean of the medical school.

Also at the meeting:
• The Board of Trustees approved restrictions on parking on Calumet Court.
• The 16 faculty and staff parking are designated as back-in parking.
• The other 18 back-in parking spaces are reserved for Washington Apartments only with Washington Court parking permits.The other 18 back-in parking spaces are reserved for Washington Apartments only with Washington Court parking permits.
• The Board approved to execute an extension for CMU’s electric supply.
• The university has a contract with Wolvering Power Marketing Cooperative through Dec. 31, 2011.
• The Board wants to extend it past 2011 with the anticipation of similar or lower rates.

He said the project’s cost is low when compared to other institutions and universities with brand-new medical school buildings.

Enarson used examples such as the Commonwealth Medical College in Scranton, Pa., and Texas Tech’s medical school, both built from scratch for larger-scale estimate by space provided. Commonwealth has an estimated 190,000-plus-square foot size, while Texas Tech was built at about 125,000-square feet specifications. Both constructed new buildings.

The lower cost comes from building an addition to the Health Professions Building. Funds for the project will come from gifts, grants and university reserves.
Interim University President Kathy Wilbur said the university requires private fundraising for all major projects.

Trustee Sam Kottamasu said the capital fundraising goal is $10 million. The total campaign goal is $25 million, he said.

“This really is about half the cost of most our recent projects,” Wilbur said. “The education building, $50 million. The Health Professions building, $50 million. Charles V. Park Library was $50 million.

“This won’t exceed $24 million and, compared to all the other estimates from scratch, the cost is far under Commonwealth and Texas Tech. They were all three figures.”

Inside the building

The addition will be built to accreditation standards set by the Liaison Committee on Medical Education and will be designed for silver level LEED certification from the U.S. Green Building Council.

The building will be two stories, and directly connected to the northwest side of the Health Professions Building.

Teaching space will cover about 21,000 square feet of the building, including a 125-person capacity lecture hall, 11 small group rooms, two discussion rooms, two cadaver rooms, a resource room, two simulation rooms and 12 clinical skills exam rooms.

Another 7,200 square feet will be allotted for student services. This includes a library for collections and reserves, a learning commons, a quiet study, a lounge and a kitchen.

Enarson said all of these items are requirements for medical school accreditation.

“An unaccredited medical school is not something we’re interested in,” said Trustee Stephanie Comai. “There are very strict standards you have to get through to achieve that.”

Enarson said if the medical school student enrollment outgrows the facility, the addition could instead act as an extension for the College of Health Professions. When completed, the building will total 173,000 square feet when combined with the Health Professions Building.

“Right from the start, this could be used for some of the health professions classes,” said Trustee Sarah Opperman.

The Health Professions Building addition is scheduled for completion in spring 2012, and the medical school’s inaugural class is still anticipated for fall 2012.

There is no start date set for construction, and Wilbur said the university will be looking for a contractor for the project.

 

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  • http://www.news-leader.com/mopolitics Chad Livengood

    So, I’m confused here…

    Where is the money coming from to pay for this $24 million project?

    Is $10 million coming from private donations for capital improvements? How much is Sam Kottamasu personally pledging contribute to the $10 million goal?

    Where’s the rest of the money coming from? It seems that Michigan’s public universities have tapped the state’s Capital Outlay bonding fund dry.

    And how does this project’s $387-per-square-foot cost match up with the per-square-foot cost of Park Library, the health professions building or that new shinny education building?

    Also, if this project is half the cost, it’s probably because they’re building half as much additional classroom space. So it’s really not “half the cost” on a per-square-foot basis. It’s the same cost, or probably more.

    If the university is going to simply borrow the other $14 million, then what is CMU’s bond rating these days? A lower rating means higher interest rates for all outstanding debt, meaning more burden on the backs of students with no financial interest in the success of this medical school.

    Also, CM Life needs to hold interim President Kathy Wilbur to this statement forever: “This won’t exceed $24 million.”

    Chad Livengood, ’05
    Springfield, MO

  • Mike Ellis

    I haven’t followed this very closely but will medical students pay different tuition rates or have significant fees?
    Where is the fundraising, wasn’t it stalled at a couple of hundred thousand donated by Kottamasu and Rao?
    How far along are the engineering and architectural designs, is there any of that $2 million left?
    When does CMU expect to apply for the loans (and from where?), if they have not already? If they haven’t applied for the loans how does that change the expected cost? (they’ve outlined what the building will include so if financing is more expensive either they have to raise the building’s budget – more loans – or cut something and with credit the way it is that is a very real possibility)
    Does anyone know how much money will need to be in place by the time the first shovel hits dirt?

    Mike Ellis ’08

  • sure

    Nothing written here indicates extra expenses beyond this stupid addition to the health professions building. Isn’t it only for the student’s first two years of a medical education? Sure, affiliations aren’t set in stone, but they’ve got to go somewhere those last two years. What they heck are the projected costs for a medical campus aside from main campus? EXPENSIVE that’s what. Too many questions. It’s insane.

  • http://www.subprimealta.com plodiepsilalm

    My father is thinking of doing a fha mortgage in three years when he turns 70. The property has a tax lien. How would this effect aquiring a darn loan, if it affect it at all?

    When a lender or mortgage coporation gives someone a mortgage against a house, they put a lien on said house.

    They usually will not do the deal unless they are the primary lien. If there is already a tax lien on the property, the mortgage co would be 2nd in line to be paid back when or even if the house sells, so they will treat the loan like a 2nd mortgage even though there is no first mortgage.

    Being a 2nd mortgage loan will make it a lot harder to get the financing, and result in much higher interest rates if you do get the refi.

    With that being said, I think they will be unable to get a second mortgage loan. But I’m not sure.