By DAVID DUPONT
BG Independent News
Orange construction fencing is back in style at Bowling Green State University. Once students leave the fences go up for projects, large and small.
Some are unglamorous, though essential, like the upgrading of the tunnel under Thurstin Street that brings services from the university steam plant to campus. Others are signature projects.
Tunnel work on Thurstin Street
With the Kuhlin Center completed a few years ago, and the renovated University and Moseley halls opened for business last fall, now the university turns its attention to the Robert W. and Patricia A Maurer Center. The Maurer Center will cost $44.5 million, with other projects coming in at $18.66
The Maurer project will transform Hanna Hall into the new home for the College of Business. That includes a 40,000-square-foot addition twice the size of the original building.
Bruce Meyer, interim vice president for capital planning and campus operations, said the remediation of the inside of the building is complete, now interior demolition will begin.
Workers will remove windows and knock down walls. Programming to determine the interior layout is being completed. The project is scheduled to be completed by the start of the fall, 2020, semester.
The concept is to open up the inside space while maintaining a vintage look on the exterior of the existing building. Hanna’s east wall will be preserved with the new addition built over it. The building will incorporate the traditional with the contemporary, Meyer said.
The open space will be conducive to collaboration among faculty and students. The style will be like a modern corporate space allowing for a smoother transition for students going from campus to careers.
Work in the new movie theater spaces in Olscamp and the student union has commenced. That’s where the Gish Film Theater programming will move. The seats from the Gish have been put in storage, Meyer said.
The summer started with one of the most notable projects – the demolition of Harshman Quad.
Meyer said the removal of the residence hall complex opens up the view into campus. He said he’s surprised by the number of people taking photos of the site and the campus beyond.
The debris will be removed by late August with the project finally buttoned up by October. Grass and trees will be planted, he said, as university officials ponder future use of the site. One possibility is an expanded parking lot, but Meyer said administrators want to make sure that’s where parking is needed.
The nearby basketball courts are also being repaired and will be ready for play by the time students return.
Electrical load work at McFall is also on schedule. That will improve service to a number of other buildings across the green. Also, McFall will get new windows.
The Eppler Complex will be tuck-pointed and get a new roof. Interior repairs, painting and carpeting, to fix issues caused by the leaking will also be completed. The Recreation Center and fieldhouse are also getting new roofs.
A new forensics lab is going to be built in the Life Science building. That lab will replicate the layout of labs in the Bureau of Criminal Investigation facility nearby. Utility work will be done at the stadium and in the science buildings.
And Mayer knows that for all the work done this summer, next summer crews will be back.
That’s when work on the renovation of the technology building will begin.
Also, in fall administrators will start work on a residence master plan to determine future student housing needs.
Another question mark is how the former golf course land will be used.
As a sign that that orange fencing does eventually come down, the university plans to hold summer commencement back on the lawn with the renovated University and Moseley halls as a back drop
