Facilities projects progressing at CSC

Almost to the finish line are the renovation of the heating, plumbing and air conditioning in the Administration Building and a project that will provide a unique method of cooling several buildings on campus.

In addition, renovation of Edna Work Hall and Wing, the large residence hall on the west side of the campus, began this winter. Also under way through the south portion of the campus is the construction of a heritage trail that is a component of the Mari Sandoz High Plains Heritage Center.

The utilities updating in the Administration Building began in September 2002. Eighty-five percent of the $1.2 million project has been paid for by the Nebraska Task Force for Building Renewal, often referred to as the 309 Commission. The remainder has been provided by the state’s Capital Improvement Fund.

The Administration Building will be one of three that will be cooled this summer by the new 700-ton steam absorption chiller that has been installed. The chiller will allow the college to use its wood-fired boiler, which burns wood chips gleaned from the surrounding hills, to eventually cool up to 10 buildings.

About 1,400 feet of large steel pipe has been placed in the tunnels that run from the heating plant to the buildings that will be cooled. The Reta King Library and the Miller Building also have been hooked up with the chiller for this summer while Edna Work Wing will be on line when it reopens this fall. Several more buildings will be added as funds become available.

Much of the funding for the initial $1.3 million project came from the 309 Commission. In addition, interest earned on state capital funds contributed $250,000 and the Nebraska Department of Forestry $100,000. The college is using $75,000 in contingency funds from its revenue bond account to cover the remaining amount.

The renovation of Edna Work Hall and Wing is a $4.275 million project that is being financed by revenue bonds, which will be paid off by room fees paid by the students who reside there.

The original hall, which was named for Edna Work, the college’s dean of women from 1917 through 1947, was constructed in 1932 while the Wing was added to the west in 1959-60.

The project will convert the original portion of the residence hall into fashionable suite-style accommodations. A living room will be located between each bedroom and each bedroom will have a private bathroom.

The room configurations in the Wing will remain more traditional with the occupants sharing bathrooms and showers. After the work is completed, the entire facility will have about 100 rooms. The wing will reopen this fall. Work on the older portion will begin this summer and be completed by the fall of 2005.

The mile-long, eight-foot wide heritage trail will begin on the west side of the campus and wind through the Thompson Natural History Preserve to the southwest. It will end on Maple Street near the City of Chadron water plant. It will be limited to hikers and bicyclists.

The college received a $270,569 transportation enhancement grant from the Nebraska Department of Roads to build the trail, which is due to be completed this summer.

Complete architectural renovation of the Administration Building is Chadron State’s top capital construction request as it looks to the future. It is expected the project also will head the construction requests that will be submitted to the Legislature and governor by the Board of Trustees of the Nebraska State Colleges for the 2006-07 biennium.

The renovation, estimated to cost $4.5 million, would completely convert the Administration Building into an academic facility made up of classrooms and faculty offices. A companion project would be renovation of Sparks Hall into offices for the college’s central administration.

The central portion of the Administration Building was the college’s first building when it opened in 1911. Three additions were made in the next six years and an elevator was added in the 1980s, but the building has never had extensive remodeling.

Sparks Hall was constructed as the college’s first dormitory in 1915, but it has been used for many years as apartments for employees and students. Its remodeling is expected to cost about $2.5 million.

“Both are grand old buildings that are structurally sound,” said CSC President Tom Krepel. “But they are tired and need lots of work. The mechanical work that is being completed in the Administration Building is a good start toward protecting the state’s investment and extending the life of the building for many years. Now the final step needs to be taken.”