By DAVID DUPONT
BG Independent News
When students pack up and leave Bowling Green State University for the summer, that’s the time for maintenance and construction crews really dig into their work.
Construction is well underway on projects that need to be completed before students return, or in the case of the work on the newly designated Bowen Thompson Quadrangle, before the wedding bells ring.
That project replacing a deteriortating tunnel top that runs underneath the green has to be wrapped up before the end of July when a wedding is booked into Prout Chapel, said Brian Swope, director of the BGSU Office of Design and Construction.
Other major projects have longer timelines.
Construction of the Maurer Family Center, the new home for the College of Business, continues with the extension of Hanna Hall stretching outward.
The work is “right on track,” Swope said. “It’s moving along very nicely.”
He said that when the Maurer Center opens in August, 2020, “it will be a game changer for the university.”
The next major project, the $10.4 million renovation of the College of Technology, is getting ready to start. Right now it’s in the programming stage, with the floor plans being laid out, and decisions made about placement of programs. Work there should begin in fall, Swope said, and completed by August, 2021.
Some programs may have to move to the McDonald Annex while construction is done in their areas.
In the longer range is the future of Jerome Library. The iconic structure was built in 1967 and has the kind of deferred maintenance issues expected of a building of that vintage.
The university has contracted with BHDP Architects to work on a master plan for Jerome. They’ve been on campus meeting with focus groups discussing various options.
“Let’s understand what a modern university library looks like and how does our library measure up,” Swope said. “This is how libraries function. This is what you have, and this is what you should have.”
The building has problems that need to be addressed including the system of aging pipes carrying water for the HVAC system in the ceilings.
The master plan is set to be released in fall. “The university will have to make a strategic decision how to go forward,” Swope said.
The danger of old piping was shown in early winter when an air handling unit in McFall froze causing pipes to burst. “The water just poured down through the building,” Swope said.
The major damage was the gallery area on the second floor, forcing faculty senate to relocate its meetings.
Once that happened, Swope said, it led university officials to consider how that space, last renovated in the 1970s and looking its age, could be freshened up.
McFall, which houses the offices of the president and other top administrators, also received new windows in a project scheduled before the broken pipes this winter.
The university’s ongoing upgrade of classrooms into active learning spaces continues with 10 classrooms in the College of Musical Arts. Those rooms had been scheduled by the College for its courses. Once completed they will be on the general grid, and if not booked for music, will be available for other departments.
Other projects include work on Eppler, HVAC upgrades on Conklin that include connecting the residence hall to the central chiller, and tuck pointing on Offenhauer.
All this has continued on schedule despite the wet weather, Swope said. “We’ve been able to work through the rain.”
