Building initiatives get positive reports
The plans for some top priority items from University President Leonard Plachta's May building initiative report were updated Thursday at the Board of Trustees meeting.
Academic Administration Assistant Vice President Bob DeBruin said Gov. John Engler signed a $50-million supplemental appropriation bill Thursday morning to help fund CMU's new Health Professions Building project. The number-one priority in Plachta's report is slated to be erected where Theunissen Stadium currently stands, on the northwest corner of Preston Street and East Campus Drive.
"That gives us the go-ahead to continue with the design of the building," DeBruin said of Engler's approval.
The state will contribute $37,499,800 for the project. CMU is required to pay 25 percent of the overall price, or $12.5 million. In February, the Dow Foundation of Midland donated a $5 million grant towards the amount owed by CMU. In addition to state funds and public and private donations, new buildings and renovations receive funding from loans and the new $25 per student per semester campus improvement fee, which takes effect this fall.
Architects for the future baseball stadium were on campus Thursday and Friday. DeBruin said the goal is to demolish the stadium next May after the baseball season ends, after which the grounds and development phase of the new building will begin.
Athletics Director Herb Deromedi also updated the board on the stadium plans. He said the design and construction of the new baseball complex and the demolition of Theunissen Stadium will come to an amount not to exceed $4 million.
"The location of the new field will be on the south end of campus - west of West Campus Drive and south of Kewadin Village. We are finalizing the location with our architects," he said.
Deromedi said Jim Duff, electrical project manager for Facilities Management, sent proposals to five architectural engineering firms in early April for the new stadium construction. After each firm gave a presentation in early May, a committee, including members of CMU's baseball staff, chose the architectural firm Hobbs and Black of Ann Arbor to work with Heery International, from Atlanta.
"We felt we'd like a local firm to work with Heery International, to team up with their expertise in baseball stadium design," Associate Athletics Director Jay Lanctot said.
Hobbs and Black worked on CMU's Indoor Athletic Complex and the Kelly/Shorts Stadium renovation, and Heery International has done work on the Atlanta Braves' new stadium, Turner Field, as well as various college stadiums.
"We feel Heery International is very well qualified. We feel very comfortable with that group. The project is coming along on schedule," Deromedi said.
Preparing the new stadium site may begin as early as September, he said. The actual stadium construction will not occur, but preparing the area for the playing field will take place. This will involve adding soil and planting grass to create a playing turf, as well as putting in plumbing and electrical lines for the site.
"Time is of the essence," Deromedi said, noting Theunissen Stadium needs to be demolished by the end of the 2001 baseball season so the construction of the Health Professions Building can begin, and the new baseball stadium has to be ready for use in spring 2002.
Convocation/Events Center
At its March 17 meeting, the board passed a resolution giving Plachta authorization to contract for the planning and schematic design for a Convocation/Events Center at a cost not to exceed $350,000. The building could hold up to 10,000 people and, in addition to hosting graduation ceremonies and men's and women's basketball games, may host various other events.
A total of $35,000 was allocated to determine site selection and to develop a "request for proposal" document to select an architectural firm to guide the project. Rossetti Associates of Birmingham was selected for the contract in May. Lanctot, a member of the center's planning team, said Rossetti Associates will provide a site survey Aug. 2 and 3.
"Rossetti will talk to the users of the facility about how it will be used, then work with the university master plan and determine where the best site will be," Lanctot said.
The first CMU Master Plan since 1987 was unveiled at the March board meeting, and is touted as a long-range program that transforms CMU into a more pedestrian-friendly campus.
Deromedi said the Convocation/Events Center may also host and better accomodate concerts, job fairs and well-known speakers that draw large crowds instead of holding events in Rose Arena. The planning team and Rossetti Associates will also discuss other opportunities for events at the center, he said.
Welcome Center
Plachta also told trustees Thursday about plans for a temporary Welcome Center in the Public Broadcasting Building. A total of $20,000 has been allocated to complete the renovation of the building's reception area this summer. Plans include exterior signage that will be clearly visible from Broomfield Road and possibly from Mission Road.
Plachta said PBS Director Ed Grant "has been very cooperative, and we are using some of his space ... without seriously impinging on it."
"There's some modest rearrangement in the way we do things, but nothing substantial," Grant said Friday.
The center will help visitors who would like to know what events are happening on campus, or who may want a map or just a cup of coffee, Plachta said. The temporary welcome center will also give university officials ideas for a permanent location, he said.
Furniture for the Welcome Center has been ordered, and the PBS Office is working with Facilities Management in a modest upgrade which includes painting and placing signs for the center, Grant said.
Officials are also gathering information from various departments on campus to disseminate to visitors. Grant said the center may open in mid-August or September.
The annual operating cost for the center, including the pay of a full-time clerical position and various student assistants, is expected to reach $34,000.
Proposed hours for the center are 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Friday and 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.
"It will be open relatively long hours on an experimental basis, so that there will be a prominent, low-cost, well-respected operation on campus to greet visitors," Plachta said.
