Des Moines Business Record
11-10-07
ISU reaches new heights in construction activity
BY ERIC ROWLEY
An Iowa State University official sees it as an investment in the future.
The school plans to spend more than $150 million on proposed construction
projects, most of which will break ground by the end of next year.
"It's an investment in the future of the university; it's an investment in the future of
Iowa," said Warren Madden, vice president of business and finance at Iowa
State.
"In recent years it's typical to have two or three major construction projects going
on," Madden said. "This is more major projects than you would normally find."
With eight major projects taking place next year, including renovations at Jack
Trice Stadium and a new $80 million research laboratory for biorenewable fuels
to be completed in 2012, Iowa State is taking aggressive steps toward its future.
"If you look at each of these, you'll find they are critically needed," Madden said.
Some are needed more than others. In 2004, the College of Veterinary Medicine
was placed on limited accreditation because its facilities were deemed
inadequate. Two years later, the college broke ground on a $48 million teaching
and diagnostic laboratory in hopes of returning the college to full accreditation.
The project is scheduled to be completed in the fall semester of 2008.
"Those buildings are 30 years old," Madden said about the College of Veterinary
Medicine facilities. "As medical technology in the field changes, those buildings
have become obsolete."
The university isn't only updating buildings; it's looking toward the future. An $80
million research facility will keep pace with the boom in alternative fuels. The
Biorenewables Complex will be located on the west side of the campus between
the College of Design and Howe Hall and will house a research laboratory and
the department of agricultural and biosystems engineering. The state approved
$32 million in funding for the lab last spring. Iowa State will search for additional
state and private funding for the rest of the complex. The facility is to be
completed in 2010.
"The biorenewables facility really reflects the current state commitment in the
area of the biorenewables," Madden said. "The state wants to be a leader in that,
and we're pleased that the legislation provided the funding for that."
The chemistry department will also receive a new building. Construction of a
$74.5 million building is scheduled to begin in the fall of 2008. The 82,000square-foot facility will create additional classrooms and laboratories for the
department. The Iowa Board of Regents approved the project at its Oct. 31
meeting. Renovations to Gilman Hall and Davidson Hall are included in the $74.5
million budget. The project will be funded with $15.6 million in private funding and
$58.9 million from the state.
Jacob Petrich, professor and chairman of the department of chemistry, said
the expansion for the department was "critical" to the success of the school's
future success and pointed to the ebbing number of faculty as a result of the poor
facilities.
"In the past 10 or 12 years, all of our competition has attained a new building or
addition," he said. "You can't hire faculty if you don't have the facility for them to
work in."
The last major addition to the chemistry department was in 1964.
Petrich said the new building will have a new heating, ventilation and air
conditioning system that will allow for more laboratory-intensive research. He
said the department's current system is inadequate.
Another key project that will take place next year is renovations to the Maple,
Willow and Larch residential hall dining center and the Oak and Elm residential
hall dining center. The Maple, Willow and Larch dining facility will receive a $13
million update and will function as a community center similar to the Union Drive
Community Center that was built in 2003 on the west side of campus. The new
facility will seat 560 students and will house six food specialty stations. Another
$2 million will be invested in smaller renovations at the Oak and Elm dining hall.
Carol Petersen, associate director for ISU Dining, said she saw a "large
demand" for a dining facility with a variety of choices on the east side of campus.
"We wanted to make the east side of campus more popular to the students."
Madden sees the large boom in projects on campus as a catalyst for the Central
Iowa economy, because a majority of the firms contracted for the construction
are local. "These are good economic development activities for the state of
Iowa," he said. "It's a real economic boost for the Central Iowa economy."
Last spring, the state of Iowa put a moratorium on additional state funding for
new capital projects, pointing to a slowdown for any longer-term projects for Iowa
State.
Iowa State doesn't foresee many problems in handling the large number of
construction projects. "One would rather be dealing with the challenges of these
projects moving ahead than not having projects," Madden said. "It's a very large
number of projects, and we're fortunate to have both the public and private
support to be able to do this at this point in time."