Campus master plan to focus on making CMU a 'walkable campus'
The Finance and Facilities Committee revealed plans Thursday to update Central Michigan University's campus master plan.
The campus master plan was first released in 2001 and was updated again in 2003. According to Director of Plant Engineering and Planning Linda Slater, the first half of this year was dedicated mainly to data collection.
The data collection process culminated with discovery and design forums during which public comment and suggestions were welcomed and concluded with formal drafting that took place at the end of February. Both events were open to the public and encouraged student involvement.
"What we've gathered is an idea on how to plan the future of our campus," Associate Vice President of Facilities Management Steve Lawrence said. "These plan for buildings, sidewalks and bike paths could potentially serve us for the next 100 years."
While no specific plans for immediate action were established at the meeting, several renovation ideas were the focal point of the presentation. The planning of buildings, green spaces, sidewalks, bike paths and roads were all mentioned.
One of the focuses of the new master plan is to ensure CMU remains a safe and walkable campus by improving traffic flow across campus during peak hours.
Suggestions for optimizing traffic flow include large and more convenient parking lots on the campus perimeter, splitting Preston Street into two lanes and the construction of roundabouts on main streets.
Lawrence also mentioned enhancing walkability with minimized vehicle traffic by adding a "green spine" through campus.
The suggested green space, which lends to a walkable, bike friendly and publicly accessible campus, would run the length of campus and expand just south of Broomfield Road.
Included in the master planning process is a space utilization and facility condition survey, which found a potential $130 million in deferred maintenance to facilities over the next seven to 10 years.
The facility condition assessment ranked buildings on campus on a scale from one to five, five meaning equipment is nonfunctional and requires attention within the next one to two years.
The assessment found $87.9 million in category three buildings, meaning they will need repair within the next seven to 10 years. An additional $41.1 million in repairs were assessed in category four and five buildings, meaning equipment is either nonfunctional or soon to be nonfunctional.
Priorities listed in the update include repairs and improvements to life safety systems, protecting the building envelope and utility maintenance.
Deferred maintenance
More than $4 million in funding for maintenance projects was also approved Thursday, including $1.7 million in roof replacements across campus.
More than $900,000 was allocated for infrastructure improvements to Anspach Hall, part of the building's second phase of renovations scheduled for the summer. An additional $406,000 will be spent on exterior lighting across campus.
Other projects include window replacement ($272,000) and HVAC upgrades ($140,000) and locker room upgrades ($129,000) to the Events Center.
—Editor-in-Chief Aaron McMann contributed to this report.
