By DAVID DUPONT
BG Independent News
BGSU’s Master Plan 2.0 is still being formulated, but that doesn’t mean there’s not work to do now. The University’s Board of Trustees Friday acted to move two construction projects forward.
[RELATED: BGSU Campus Master Plan 2.0 offers a vision for the future]
They approved spending:
- $1.3 million for design services for a renovation of Kohl Hall
- $1.7 million to hire a construction manager for the project to expand and renovate the Technology Building.
Kohl Hall was already scheduled to shut down next academic year so air conditioning could be installed. However, Chief Financial Officer Sheri Stoll said that while work on the companion project to install air conditioning in McDonald Hall was being done significant plumbing problems were identified.
[RELATED: BGSU trustees approve $18 million to install air conditioning in McDonald & Kohl]
Those are being repaired, but campus operations decided they should also consider looking at what plumbing needs Kohl had.
Given the plumbing is original to the 1938 building and the 1962 addition, those needs are significant, and the pipes are less accessible than in McDonald, Stoll said.
Stoll said that rather than complete the air conditioning and then address the plumbing later, university officials decided to wrap the projects together. That would allow them to update the bathrooms from community style to more modern pod-style.
Other renovations will also be done.
Offices spaces and one of the two welcome areas will be changed into 40 rooms on the first floor. Work on the upper three floors will result in the loss of some rooms with a net gain of 21 rooms.
Also, by going to pod-style restrooms, the university would gain flexibility, by not having to designate floors as single sex occupancy.
The projected cost of the project would be $10.8 million, including the design services just approved. That is in addition to the $6.3 million HVAC project. The funding is provided by money set aside every year to address residential housing needs. Stoll said there is about $40 million in that fund.
The work is expected to be completed in time for occupancy in fall 2025.
The Technology Building project has been in the works for almost a decade. Renovation has been considered but its split-level design made that difficult, according to a background report provided to the trustees. A new building was also considered. Instead, the university constructed Kokosing Hall as a home for construction management and envisioned renovating and adding onto the existing home of the College of Technology Architecture and Applied Engineering as a Technology Engineering Innovation Center.
[RELATED: Building for its future, BGSU dedicates Kokosing Hall, home the School of the Built Environment]
That project would involve demolition of parts of the existing building, some renovation of the east wing, and an expansion to the south. The plan also calls for accommodations to allow for future expansion to the east.
The project is expected to be completed in phases. Stoll estimated the first phase would cost approximately $30 million.
Stoll said she will ask for trustees’ approval for the first phase of the project in September with construction starting in fall and a tentative completion date of in mid-2026.
