Trustees hear graduate housing plans, construction updates during first open committee meetings
Trustees heard updates on several infrastructure projects during the board of trustees' newly opened committee meetings Wednesday.
Steve Lawrence, associate vice president of Facilities Management, requested permission from the board on proposed renovations to Pearce and Powers halls totaling $24.5 million.
Lawrence detailed the proposed addition of graduate student housing, which would be composed of two buildings near Sloan Hall by Preston Street.
The buildings would each be three floors with one-, two- and four-bedroom facilities that could house 164 students total.
One of the proposed buildings would include a fitness center and both would feature conference centers.
He said the buildings should be considered replacements for the Washington Apartment complexes demolished to make way for the EHS building.
"I expect to give a summertime briefing for the president," Lawrence said.
The Student Activity Center's fitness room will be completed in March, Lawrence said. The final product will be 4,500 square feet — a 65 percent increase.
The renovation of the University Center will be complete in December. Lawrence said the project's completion will be done in phases: Both the third floor and the East Wing of the Main floor's renovations will be completed in April; the Lower Level's East Wing will be complete in August, and the Main floor's East Wing and Lower Level West Wing will be completed in December.
Barrie Wilkes, associate vice president of Financial Services and Reporting, said negotiations over the proposal by Lodgco Hospitality LLC to build a hotel east of Kelly/Shorts Stadium is moving forward.
"It's something we're working on," he said. "We are getting more refined drawings. We need to finalize the lease agreements."
He said to expect an agreement within a month and he would have "better numbers" at that point.
Lodgco and the university hope to have construction complete for an August 2012 opening, and the proposed suites added onto Kelly/Shorts in time for the 2012 Central Michigan University and Michigan State University football game.
Lawrence said construction of the College of Medicine will be completed in September, and employees can move into the building in January 2012.
"The building's progress is on target and on track," Lawrence said.
University President George Ross said during the College of Medicine meeting the decision to delay opening until 2013 was not made by the Liaison Committee on Medical Education. He said 10 medical schools nationally that have made similar decisions.
“While it was a difficult decision to make, we believe it was the right decision,” Ross said.
Ross said they are trying to redefine how doctors are trained in the U.S.; this new strategy will affect the mid-Michigan region for “decades and decades to come.”
More than $1 million from internal funding is available for the College of Medicine; the goal is to reach $25 million.
“We feel like we’re right on the cusp of a couple contributions to come through,” said Kathy Wilbur, vice president of Development and External Relations. “We heard from alums who want to be at the table as well and we’re very pleased about that.”
Wilbur said they “need to redo, rewrite, re-figure, and re-photograph everything.”
“We are asking individuals for very significant (and) large donations,” she said.
